A Ghost Of A Friendship
by SideshowJazz1
Summary: The summer after "The Curse Of Camp Cold Lake", Della is back and ready to find a buddy among the new set of campers. She decides to approach Brooke Castle, a shy girl who can barely look people in the eye. But Della now knows that if she doesn't want to be rejected again, she'll have to make Brooke her friend if she wants the girl to be her buddy. Cover image from Shutterstock.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I can't believe I didn't think of this before. Okay, first, despite the protagonist's name, this does NOT have any connection to the heroine of "Phantom of the Auditorium". I have read it, but I barely remember anything about it. But this one...just the cover makes it memorable. I'm not sure what that creature rising from the water is, but I don't think it's the right monster. Yes, everyone, I present what happened the summer after "The Curse At Camp Cold Lake"! A few years ago, I gave you "Night Of The Living Dummy" with a passive protagonist. Now, let's move on to a less malevolent monster.**

 **Plot: After Della's failure at making Sarah her buddy, she's determined to find another girl who will be her buddy the following summer. Her first choice is shy new girl Brooke Castle, who, while not hating camp, just can't find it in her to make friends. But in order to get close, she realizes she must first make Brooke her friend. How is this going to work out?**

 **Disclaimer: All rights go to RL Stine. I only own Brooke.**

 **Oh, and also, if I mention something like an iPod or Kindle, don't bother sending a "they didn't have those in the 90s" review or PM. The core concept is timeless, and so I might use 2000s tech.**

 _I want to be here. I wish I was at home. I want to be here. I wish I was..._

I slapped myself. _STOP IT!_ I was so indecisive. Okay, so I liked water sports. At least, things in the water. Not canoeing or boating. Anything on the surface apart from jet-skiing made me seasick. But if I was submerged in the water, than it was my thing. Camp Cold Lake was a water sports camp. That, by definition, made it the camp for Brooke Castle.

But I hadn't really wanted to go to a summer camp at all. I could go swimming at the leisure centre at home. But I had to be fair. I knew why Mom and Dad had wanted me to go to camp. "You need to learn to get along with people more." Mom had said. "You keep saying that you want to enter the Olympics as a swimmer. Well, Brooke, if you are, you'll be around other athletes like you. Your competition. You'll have to talk to them. Social interaction is important. And if you really don't like the camp, we'll take you home on Visiting Day. It's only for a month and a half, even if you don't come home then. You won't be away for the whole summer."

It was true that I was very shy. I had friends at school, but I'd known most of them from kindergarten. I wasn't so great at making new friends. I couldn't look people in the eye, and I could barely speak. I never knew what to say to people. Mom was right. I needed to start making friends.

So I'd agreed to look at the summer camps running. I'd thought about Camp Spirit Moon, but it sounded like it was all about ghost stories and campfires. Ghost stories gave me nightmares. And I deliberated over Camp Jellyjam. But it had a ton of sports I wasn't so good at. I'd rather stay in the water all day than lose footraces (okay, maybe I wouldn't come last, but I wouldn't come first) or strike out at baseball every time I was up to bat. Plus the little purple blob they had as their mascot gave me the creeps.

So Camp Cold Lake was the one I chose. To be fair, my parents had gotten a little choked up when they said goodbye to me. Especially Dad. "I just can't believe you're really doing this." he'd admitted. "My baby is going off to camp all by herself."

"Dad!" I'd hissed, blushing. "You'll see me in three weeks, anyway. I'll be fine."

But an hour later, sitting on the bus about ten minutes away from the campsite, I wasn't so sure of it. And when we passed the lake, I grew less sure. It was dark, and more murky than I'd imagined. I wondered if there were fish in there. Or eels. I couldn't stand the thought of those snake-like creatures with evil eyes and sharp teeth. Ew. Scary.

Still, I got off the bus when it reached the campsite. It looked like a pretty nice camp, apart from the lake. The campfire had benches stationed around it, and the cabins were in good shape. Me and the other campers were met by a grinning camp counselor.

"Hi!" he said. "I'm Richard, your head counselor. We'll show you around later on, but for now, we'll just give you your room assignments and some time to unpack, before we give you all the tours and things. How many of you have been here before?"

Several people yelled out.

"Excellent!" Richard smiled. "Well, be sure to help the new campers out so I don't always have to do it. So just check the room assignments attached to the door of each living area. Girls' cabins are in that building to the left of the campfire. Boys' cabins are a bit further on, near the lake."

My cabin was Cabin 3. I was the first into the room, and chose the bottom bunk next to the window. As I began to unpack, two more girls rushed in, giggling. One of them stopped. "Oh! Hi. Are you Brooke or Jasmine?"

"Brooke." I said quietly, not looking at them. I noticed one of them had long blonde hair, and the other was..well...sort of short. It was the blonde who had spoken. Her voice was very husky.

"Nice to meet you." smiled the short girl. "I'm Meg. This is Jan. We've been to this camp before. I'm fourteen, and she's thirteen. How old are you?"

"Twelve." I murmured.

Jan gave a sigh. "I wish Briana was in our cabin again. Did she say she was coming this year, Meg?"

Meg shrugged. "I haven't heard from her in a while. Didn't she leave halfway through camp last year? Maybe she didn't want to come back." She suddenly glanced back up at me. "Oh! Sorry. We were just talking about one of our bunkmates last year. Jan was new, but Briana and I had been friends since the year before. Hey, do you mind if we take the bunks opposite yours? Jasmine'll have to take the one above you."

"If she doesn't complain about it." Jan muttered.

"Hey, be fair." Meg said. "Not everyone's going to be like that!"

At that moment, Jasmine stepped in. She was tall and willowy, with long blonde hair. She looked more like a model than anything. "Hi." she said. "I'm Jasmine. I read the room assignments. So you guys are Jan, Meg and Brooke. Which bunk can I have?"

I managed to speak up. "It's the one above me." I said in almost a whisper.

Jasmine smiled. "Okay, cool. So...which one are you again?"

"Brooke." I managed.

Jasmine smiled again as she put her bags on the top bunk. "Well, it's great to meet you all, anyway. We're going to be great friends, I know it!"

I didn't say much else. Jasmine acted as if she'd been at camp for years, and before long, she, Jan and Meg were all chatting away as if they'd known each other since they were in diapers. They seemed to have forgotten I existed.

When we were finally called to the mess hall for dinner, Jan finally seemed to remember I was there. She smiled as she was about to leave. "Come on." she offered ."I'll show you where to go. I remember what it was like to be new here. It was lucky I had Briana and Meg to show me around last year."

As we walked, I got up the courage to ask a question. "Were you and Meg bunkmates last year?"

"That's how we made friends." Jan explained. "We hoped we'd be together again this year. And since Briana doesn't seem to be back, we'll probably have to stick together." She grinned ."Don't worry, though. We're bunkies, too. We'll look after you and Jasmine." She giggled, and then whispered "And protect you from the wrath of Camp Cold Lake's water safety!"

I managed to smile, too. At least my bunkmates were all nice. But they were also so confident. Jan seemed so sure of herself. I'd learned from the other girls' conversations that Meg had a lot of very strong opinions, and a rather loud voice for someone so small. Oh, who was I kidding? It was always the small ones who had loud voices. And Jasmine was the most confident of all. Pretty, graceful, easygoing, friendly...she had it all. I wasn't pretty – I was skinny, with dark bobbed hair just reaching past the top of my neck, and deep green eyes, just a few shades lighter than sushi seaweed. I wasn't graceful...well, unless I was in the water. I _was_ easygoing, but only because I was too shy to argue. I really hated confrontations. And although I wanted to be friendly, again, I was just so shy. I mean, I was only at camp to try to overcome that shyness...but what if I couldn't?

What if even summer camp couldn't get me any closer to socially competent?

 **Looks like Brooke needs a friend. Well, maybe she'll get one. She's not Sarah. She's not going to pretend to drown – she has no reason to. And assuming Briana didn't do that, what actually happened? I think that some ghosts can reveal themselves to whoever they want to reveal themselves to at any time.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Let's keep going. Thank you to the reviewers. : Sounds like a great idea and I have read that one (haven't been able to find stuff like "Legend of The Lost Legend", "How To Kill A Monster" and a few others), but I only write if I get inspired. Maybe you should try writing that? I'd read it – I'd love to find out why Thalia and the other sane kids didn't go crazy.**

 **Bloodylilcorpse: Thank you for looking this up! Brooke's actually very like me, too.**

 ** **sweetie buttons: I take your point, but Sarah made a major fuss over the beds, then dissed Meg's height and by making one mistake, possibly ruined Jan's summer. Plus they decided to start over and apologized to Sarah halfway through.****

 ** **Guest: Good idea. I have thought about it, and since ghost stories are part of summer camp, there will be some stories around it, but to be honest, the real antagonist here will be...loneliness.****

The food at camp wasn't bad. It wasn't good, either, but as camp food went, I had expected it to be a whole lot worese. It was, as usual, the kids that made the first dinner hard for me. I sat with my bunkmates, but our table held two more cabins' worth of girls (yeah, very few tables had both boys and girls sitting there). Plus most of them were thirteen or fourteen. I felt like a little girl. As if it wasn't hard enough for me to talk!

Occasionally, one of the girls addressed me, but most times, I was interrupted by another girl who hadn't realized I was trying to answer.

I was relieved when Richard and a female counselor called the mess hall to attention. "We have our first campfire in ten minutes!" he called out. "There, we'll got through the water safety rules and a few other things campers should know, plus the camp song, since the new campers are lucky enough not to know it yet."

Meg rolled her eyes. "He made that joke last year too." she whispered to me. "And the year before. He always makes the same lame jokes."

Still, we all got out to the campfire in good time, where we were introduced to the female counselor – Liz. She was the head water safety counselor, and she was super-serious. She seemed all right apart from that, though. A few of the older boys wolf-whistled at her, but she didn't pay attention to them. She simply went through twenty rules about swimming, stressing the number one – the Buddy System. No matter what kind of water sports you did, you had to pick out a friend to do it with.

Oh, joy. What if I couldn't make friends? I only wanted to come here for the water sports. Now I had to make friends to do that too?

"And one more thing." Liz contniued. "Please keep out of the surrounding woods. A lot of deadly snakes live in there. We've had people try to sneak into the woods before, and they've been very lucky so far. We've actually witnessed some campers coming within inches of being bitten."

Well, that wouldn't be a problem for me. Who would go into the woods, anyway? Why had other campers gone there? A shiever went down my spine. Was camp so boring that it made people want to get some excitement in the woods?

Okay, well, that sounded wrong. Or romantic. One of the two, I wasn't sure. I guess if I meant excitement involving a boy and a girl sneaking off to the woods to make out, that would be romantic. Anything further or nonconsensual...yeah, I didn't actually know enough. I had a laptop without kiddie locks, so I knew some stuff, but I only looked at R13 stuff, not R16.

Then we had to sing the camp song. Most of the kids didn't really bother trying. Jasmine, thought? She seemed to already know the words and sang like she was Taylor Swift or Emma Bunton (she had that same tone of sweetness to her voice, yet it filled the space). I sort of just sat there with my mouth opening and closing so I looked as if I was singing. But no sound actually came out of my mouth.

"Okay, a few notices before we let you go!" Richard called out. "First, all of you are tone deaf." There were a few titters, most of them sounding pretty sarcastic or just out of courtesy. "Second, each afternoon, there'll be a sign-up sheet outside the cabin buildings for whichever activity you want to try. Tomorrow, you can sign up in the mornings, but try to sign up before eight each night for the rest of camp. Third, you're allowed into each other's cabins during the day, but you must be in your own cabin by nine thirty. Lights out is at ten. Have fun, everyone!"

We spent the rest of the night hanging out in the cabins, chatting. Well, the other girls chatted. I lay on my bunk, listening for a time where I could say something. Mostly, I was reading. The book was actually a series of short horror stories. The one I was reading right now took place next ot a lake, actually. But it had a story about a drowned spirit. Sort of like that horror movie series with that kid on camp who died and was eventually resurrected as an adult and attacked any teens unlucky enough to cross paths with him. Actually, the Wiki said he was resurrected multiple times – probably to make more movies.

Whatever. Ghost stories only bothered me when they were oral or had pictures. It was the tone that scared me, the creepy soft voice, the screams, the scary faces. In text, ghost stories were fine. As long as I didn't think too hard about it, I wouldn't have nightmares.

"What's that you're reading?" Meg suddenly asked.

I looked up. "Oh, just scary stories. Well, actually, they're not very scary, but they're supposed to be."

"I _love_ horror sotries!" Jan exclaimed. "We should tell each other some after Lights Out."

Meg rolled her eyes. "Lame. Why just tell the stories in our cabin when we could do it around the campfires? We should make up some really good ones as a cabin and tell them one of the campfire nights. We have one every other night. That'll freak out everyone else."

Jasmine heaved a sigh from her bunk. "I have absolutely no imagination. You three will have to make up everything. Although," she added in a lighter tone, "I love _listening_ to the stories."

"Well, if we really want to scare everyone," Jan began, "We have to make the story happen at camp."

"And start with cliffhanger jump scares." Meg added. "Like a girl sticking a harmless snake down the neck of the most annoying girl at camp." She giggled, but Jan didn't.

"What's the joke?" Jasmine asked.

"Meg actually did that once." Jan explained. "Last year. We had a bunkmate who made Briana swap bunks with her, insulted Meg's height, then revealed something that I really wanted to keep quiet. We were really mad, so Meg and Briana kept pranking her. But after they put a snake down the back of her T-shirt, she put spiders in their bed. We were all so mad."

"We made friends later on." Meg chipped in. "But she didn't stay at camp very long. After a couple of weeks, she just disappeared."

"Which is why you shouldn't use the snake story!" Jan said. "I know you think it was funny, but I think it was a little harsh."

"It was never going to hurt her, Jan!" Meg protested. "The spiders actually bit me and Briana."

"Grammar." Jan muttered. "But it doesn't matter, anyway. So what should the main story be?"

"Any ideas, Brooke?" Meg asked me directly.

I tried to think of a way to get out of it. After all, no one wanted to admit to being scared of a dumb story. Finally, I said "I'm not great at making up stories, either. You guys'll have to do it."

That was actually a major lie. I wasn't bad at English at school. Any other stories I made up had a lot of energy. Some of them rambled, but there was always drama.

I was quite glad when there was a knock on the door and we heard Liz call out "It's Lights Out, girls! Good night!"

So we switched off the lights and settled down in bed. Well, the other girls kept talking, but I drifted off, not bothered too much by their whispers.

So I'd survived the first day at camp. It hadn't been great, but I'd survived it. Considering that the water sports were next up, and I wasn't going to let my fear of swimming with the fishes (literally) get the better of me, things could only go up from here. I had to make myself enjoy something at this camp!

 ** **I lost most of the pre-written chapters of this story and had to rewrite this chapter (and another two). Hope you liked this one. Don't worry, Della's probably around somewhere. She'll show herself when she's ready.****


	3. Chapter 3

****Right. Brooke's first full day at camp. How will she go? Thanks for reviewing, Bloodylilcorpse.****

I woke up earlier than the other girls. Last chance wake-up time was eight, with breakfast at eight-thirty. Then we were expected to be down at the lake just before ten. However, I woke, refreshed and energized at seven-thirty.  
We weren't allowed to leave our cabins until eight, so I read for a while, and then took a break to get my stuff together for the showers before I continued. Once eight o'clock came around, I went straight for the showers. Meanwhile, my other bunkmates groaned as the wake-up bell rang. Jan blinked her eyes blearily. Meg put a pillow over her head.

"Five more minutes..." Jasmine mumbled from the bed above mine.

I slipped out at that time, and was the only one who didn't have to line up to shower, since I was so early. In fact, I had enough time before breakfast to explore a little bit. I wasn't supposed to go to the lake without a counselor, but I could go anywhere else, couldn't I?

The campsite seemed pretty nice. Mostly grass, apart from the concrete circle where the campfire was. But after twenty minutes, I was done. I wasn't going to try exploring the snake-infested forest, of course, and there was nowhere else to go. Except the lake.

Oh well, it wasn't like I was going to start swimming yet. I could just check it out, see what it was like close up.

In the summer sun, it didn't look half so threatening as I'd thought. It was still a little gross, with lots of plant life, but thankfully, I couldn't see any shapes gliding throught the water.

That's when I heard a giggle. I glanced up and saw a pair of eyes gazing at me from across the lake. I couldn't see much else, because the person was hidden behind a tall shrub, but I could see their pale blue eyes.

"Why don't you jump in?" they called. "I dare you!" I could tell it was a girl, about my age, but I still didn't know what she looked like.

"I...I'd get in major trouble..." I stammered, not sure how to react to this girl watching me. "I was just checking out..."

"Hey, I was just kidding!" the voice called back. The eyes disappeared, and I saw someone running away from that side of the lake.

Weird encounter, huh? I thought about looking for the girl at breakfast, but I hadn't gotten a good enough look at her. All I knew was that she had blue eyes. In that case, I could've just had suspicions about every kid with blue eyes. In that case, I could've had suspicions about Jasmine, even though she hadn't left the cabin by the time I got back from the lake. Oh well, maybe the girl wasn't even at camp and just lived around here. I didn't need to worry. If that was the case, I probably wouldn't see her again, anyway.

For the morning activity, I signed up for Free Swim. It was the most relaxing thing, and I wanted to start slow.

"Hey, Brooke," Jasmine said as I signed up, "I was going to do Free Swim, too. Wanna be my buddy?"

I smiled shyly. "Okay. Sounds good." I'd been scared I was going to end up buddy-less, so Jasmine's offer was a huge relief. Maybe, despite her seeming like a super-confident supermodel, we could be friends. Maybe it was good luck that put me with outgoing girls who were as friendly as my bunkies.

It was kind of a curse in disguise, though. Jasmine couldn't swim as well as me, so I had to stay in shallow waters so I could watch if she was in trouble. I knew Liz took the Buddy System ultra-seriously, and her beady eyes seemed to be able to watch everyone. She'd already yelled at some boy who had ignored his buddy for two minutes.

I also couldn't help looking out for the mysterious girl, but she didn't make an appearance. Still, there didn't seem to be any eels – or fish – in the lake. It wasn't as slimy as I'd originally thought, either. There was a lot of aquatic plants, and it was easy to get entangled in lakeweed. Maybe that was the reason for so many water safety rules. But it was fine, apart from all that.

As it was, no one really needed their buddy that morning. The canoers seemed to have fun, and the swimmers were enjoying themselves. There were more sections of the lake, and judging by the excited yells and squeals coming from the jet-skiing area and areas with other harder activities, it was awesome. I'd have to sign up for jet-skiing tomorrow.

After lunch at one o'clock, we had to follow the water safety rule about not swimming on a full stomach. We could do whatever we wanted for the next hour, but stay out of the water and within the campgrounds. After two, we had the choice of keeping the afternoon free or doing another water activity.

Jan, Meg and Jasmine all decided to do another water activity. Jan wanted to do canoeing, which she'd already done that morning. Jasmine went with her. Meg decided to try jet-skiing. I put myself down for doing that tomorrow, but I didn't feel like doing that today.

Once I was alone in my cabin, I picked out one of my books (I'd brought a bag almost full of books and my music player – but no cellphone. It wasn't allowed) and began reading. Only about five minutes in, I heard a gentle knock on the door.

"Yes?" I called out cautiously.

The door opened and a face looked in. "Can I come in?"

I recognized the eyes immediately. It was the girl I'd seen that morning.

"I guess." I said, looking down.

"Hey, hope you didn't take what I said too seriously." the girl said, closing the door and sitting down on Jan's bunk, facing me. She seemed to almost hover there, she was so light. "I didn't want you to get into trouble _too_ early. Still, you looked pretty afraid of swimming in there. Like it was home to a red-eyed noseless demon that attacked campers." She giggled again.

I looked at her properly. She was actually extremely pretty. She was about my age, but smaller, petite, with her hair in blonde waves tumbling down her back. Her skin was porcelain pale, and it looked paper-thin, yet it almost glowed. She wasn't wearing anything special, just a white T-shirt and shorts, but they were immaculate and I could instantly tell exactly how slim she was.

"So what's your name?" the girl asked.

"Brooke." I mumbled, not really looking her in the eye.

"That's pretty." the girl said. "Kind of fitting for a girl at a water sports camp, huh?" I looked up at her, and she laughed. "Anyway, mine's Della. I've been to this camp for several summers, so you can always count on me to help out if you're lost." She took a breath, and then asked "So, what made you decide to come to this camp?"

 ** **So Della's not playing around. Well, she is, but she's starting quickly. Hope you liked this chapter!****


	4. Chapter 4

****So last time, Brooke and Della finally met. What's next? Thanks for reviewing, Bloodylilcorpse and Rya-plume d'un souffle.  
**** Della was surprisingly easy to talk to. She kept asking me questions, and looking interested in my answers. She smiled or looked sympathetic at the right times, and commented on my answers. She was one of the best listeners I'd ever met. I felt myself loosen up as we talked, and I stopped mumbling all my answers. I managed to start talking properly, and I could finally look her in the eye. She was also a lot friendlier than I'd originally thought. Gentle, too. We talked for almost two hours, but the time passed so quickly. I couldn't believe it when I saw the clock.

"I noticed you yesterday." she confided after a few minutes. "I thought you looked lonely. It was at the campfire, but I didn't know where your cabin was at the time, so I didn't get the chance to talk to you afterwards."

I paused, looking at her with slight suspicion. "Don't you have friends here already?"

Della gave a sigh. "I find someone to hang out with each year, yes, but they're not really _friend_ friends." Her expression became dark and depressed. "I _think_ they're my friend, but I never hear from them after camp, and then the next year, I'm roomed with some other people and it starts all over again. Last summer, my friend wasn't even in my cabin. Then she made friends with her bunkmates and she didn't have time for me any more. I was so upset that I almost wanted to call my parents to persuade them to let me come home."

Her words stirred my sympathy. She was alone, and although I wasn't, I had nothing in common with my bunkmates.

"I can't believe that!" I exclaimed. "That is so not fair – you mean she ditched you just for some other girls? Way not cool."

Della shrugged. "That's what happens. I kind of got used to it. This year, I decided I wanted to keep my distance from everyone." She paused. "But I didn't want to see anyone else going the same way. That's why I decided I wanted to get to know you."

"So...we'll stick together during camp, and stay like that after the summer too?" I suggested. "Friends."

Della's smile was radiant. "Yes, friends. But," she added, "Since we're not the in the same cabin, it'll probably be harder to find each other. Why don't we each make our afternoons free, then we can hang out together at that time? And maybe some evenings – we can sit together at the campfire and things." She suddenly got up. "Anyways, I'm going to have to finish unpacking." she laughed. "I never bothered to get everything done yesterday. My bunkmates will be totally steamed if I don't get it done now. Later!"

"Later!" I called back as she left. Then I lay back on my bed, a smile on my face. I'd made a friend. And what was better, I didn't feel shy with her any more. In fact, I'd never felt so comfortable with anyone I'd just met.

I definitely didn't feel as comfortable with Meg, Jan and Jasmine. I could speak to them without mumbling, but I couldn't look them in the eye. I was too intimidated, especially by beautiful Jasmine. Knowing that I was a better swimmer than she didn't help one bit. She still seemed totally out of my league.

My bunkies came back in about ten minutes after Della left. They looked exhausted, but they'd apparently enjoyed themselves.

"So what did you do all afternoon, Brooke?" Meg asked. "You should've come jet-skiing. It was so much fun!"

"I'm doing it tomorrow, anyway." I said quietly. "One of the other girls didn't feel like doing anything, either, so she came and hung out with me. She left a few minutes ago – she hadn't finished unpacking."

"Weird." Jasmine commented. "Who doesn't unpack straight away when you're staying here for six weeks?"

Jan giggled. "It took me a whole week to unpack last time my parents and I went away – when I was ten. That was a four-week holiday in Illinois!" (The camp was in South Dakota, but we all came from different states – I lived in south Minnesota).

Meg laughed, too. "If that can happen, then I guess I can believe someone else hasn't finished yet. So when did you turn into the organized woman you are now?"

Jan grinned at the teasing tone. "Oh, you know, in four years or so. I just unpack stuff more carefully."

I felt a lot more comfortable with my bunkies than I had this time yesterday. It was nice that they were all so friendly, and they seemed genuine, too.

We had an extra campfire that night, although for the next six weeks, they'd only be twice a week, sometimes three times – depended on which two days passed when we didn't have one. The first one was just a rules-at-camp one, so this time, when we all traipsed out, the campfire was meant to be a social thing, with the counselors making sure everything was cool. Plus, if there were any rule-breaking incidents in the water, Liz would go over it with us so it didn't happen again (I got that info from Meg – apparently it happened a lot). Then we'd end the campfire with the camp song. We were allowed to leave after that, or we could hang out there for a longer while, maybe to tell ghost stories or something.

My bunkies wanted to all sit together at the campfire, but I remembered what Della had said, and searched with my eyes.

"What are you doing?" Jasmine asked.

"That girl I was talking to this afternoon – I said I'd hang out with her-" I began to explain, when I heard a voice.

"Brooke! Over here!" Della waved to me from the other side of the campfire. I grinned and went to join her.

We whispered through most of the campfire, except during the camp song. I was starting to learn the words, and Della really threw herself into it. She sang in a clear soprano voice, perfectly on pitch. But weirdly enough, she sounded rather sad as she sang. I didn't say anything to her, especially since when the song ended, she was smiling. Her eyes shone with happiness.

"Wow." I said. "How come you didn't tell me this afternoon you could sing?"

Della shrugged. "I guess it didn't come up. I mean, I love singing, but it's not something I do all the time."

I didn't see her after it was time to go back to the cabins. That was weird. I was hoping she might come in and talk to me again, but she didn't. Jasmine, Meg and Jan were all in and out of the cabin at different times before the curfew. Jasmine wasn't really in at all, to be honest, but Jan was mostly in – girls kept coming in to talk to her. Meg was half-and-half. I guess I could have gone to find Della's cabin, but I guessed she might be too tired to talk, or maybe she had another friend she wanted to talk to as well.

Still, I slept a lot easier that night.

 ** **Lucky Brooke. She'd have nightmares if she knew what Della was planning. Hope this was enjoyable!****


	5. Chapter 5

****Okay. Let's skip a week. Sort of. Thanks for reviewing, Bloodylilcorpse.****

I settled into a routine during the first week. Each morning, I'd rise early. It wasn't something I planned – it just happened. I'd usually just hang out by the campfire. It was sunny every day, and I was getting pretty tanned. That was nice. I didn't like being pale. Not very much, anyway. It contrasted too much with my hair and eyes.

I would've already chosen my morning activity, so after breakfast, I'd go off to it. Mostly, I chose Free Swim, but I did jetskiing a couple of times. There would be other activities, and a swim race at the start of the second week. Jan stuck to canoeing, mostly, but mostly, one of my bunkmates offered to be my buddy. I was getting a lot more comfortable with them, to the point where I could almost consider them friends.

The best part of the day was always the afternoon. My bunkies were always off doing something else, but I kept my promise to Della. We'd always meet up in my cabin and talk. I learned quite a lot during that time. Della's surname was Raver, she came from eastern North Dakota (only about a day's drive from where I lived), she took piano lessons, her favourite music was 1960s-era, and her favourite colour was white. She hated snakes but didn't mind eels, and the reason her parents sent her to camp the first time was because she'd been paranoid about drowning, and she kept coming back because despite her failure to find a friend, she loved the lake.

Of course, Della asked me questions, too. She knew where I lived, how old I was (we were both twelve), my favourite music (90s pop), TV show ( _The Simpsons_ ) _,_ colour (blue) and animal (meerkat), and my fear of public speaking.

"You could probably conquer that fear by actually doing a speech in front of people." she suggested. "I forced myself to swim in the lake every day the first time I came here, and now, here I am, not at all scared of drowning." She giggled. "Now it feels like it was ages ago. Like a lifetime ago."

"I've tried doing a speech." I admitted. "It was part of English class. I just looked at the ground and pretended I was talking to myself the whole time."

Della giggled again, and I found myself laughing with her. There was just something about the way she laughed – it didn't feel as if she was laughing at me. Besides, staring at the ground while doing a speech _was_ kind of funny, in a "well, now I feel dumb" kind of way.

But there were a few things I found weird about Della. First, I never saw her anywhere but at the campfire and in our cabin. She was never in the mess hall, never at the lake, and never in another cabin. I didn't understand why I never saw her anywhere else.

I wrote my parents on the fourth day of camp.

 _Hi,_

 _Well, camp is OK. I like my bunkies. They're all really nice and friendly. The food isn't as good, but I kind of expected that. They do take water safety very seriously. Liz, who runs the water sports side of things, expects us to memorize twenty water safety rules. We also have to have a buddy with us at all times. Usually, I pair up with one of my bunkies. Two of them have been here before, so they know the ropes really well._

 _I think I can handle the whole six weeks here. I hope I can make some more friends._

 _Love, Brooke_

I didn't mention Della in my letter for a reason. I didn't get why she only showed up sometimes. She seemed as if she really really wanted to be my friend, but, if so, why didn't she come to the lake? She would've been a perfect choice to have as a buddy. At least I didn't have any trouble finding one now, but still.

One of the other things I found strange about Della was that, even though I saw her at the campfire, every other time I saw her, I was alone. Once or twice, I had actually seen her on the campground, when I got up early. These were few, and usually we didn't get to talk, because other people were starting to get up early too, but it was the only other time I saw her. Della never seemed to be around when there were other people.

But I didn't want to bring this up. Whatever the reason I never saw her, Della was my friend, and I didn't like to ask her straight out. She probably have a perfectly reasonable explanation for why I never saw her.

I got a letter back from my parents at the end of the week, along with a care package containing extra waterproof sunscreen, an extra bathing suit and even another book.

 _Dear Brooke,_

 _We're glad to hear that you're settling in and that you're roomed with some nice people. We miss you. There's nothing much to report at home.  
Tell us more about the camp. What is the accomodation like? What kind of water sports do you do? Are there activities you enjoy? Your letter was very short. Our guess is that they keep you pretty busy at camp, so you don't have time to write too much. Maybe you'll find time later on._

 _Love and hugs, Mom and Dad_

It's true that my letter was short, and I felt a bit guilty. Oh well, I could write a longer letter another time.

The next time I wrote to my parents, I followed through on my resolve, and made the letter longer. It didn't say that much, but I told them how fun water-skiing was, and this time, I did tell them about Della.

 _She's been to camp several times before,_ I wrote, _and we have much more in common than I thought at first. She lives up in North Dakota, sort of on the eastern border, so we're actually not that far away from her. We're practically inseperable during free time at camp, and we always sit together at the campfires. Seriously, you should hear her singing the camp song (which even the head counselor says is lame). She makes lines like "show your vigor and vim" sound awesome. We've decided to stick together during camp._

It was during free time, actually. I was hanging out in the cabin, and Della hadn't made an appearance yet, so I was writing to kill time. She came in just as I finished that sentence.

"Hey, Brooke!" she chirped. "What's up?"

I looked up. "Just writing to my parents." I explained. "They want major details about camp."

"Oh, do you have a lot more to write?" Della asked. "It's okay, I'll wait for you to finish."

I shrugged. "Nah, I was nearly done." I signed the letter off and put it in an envelope which already had my address on it.

"I have to post a letter today, too." Della told me. "My best friend from home has her birthday in the summer, and the best I can do while stuck at camp is write to her. I can give your letter in to the counselors at the same time."

I smiled and handed it over. "Thanks!"

"So," Della said, settling in for another afternoon. "Back to my other question. What's up?"

I laughed. "Pretty much what's up for you. We're at the same camp, right?"

Della giggled. "Right! Dumb question." She paused. "I wonder if we'll get a rainy day this summer. You know, one of those indoor arts-and-crafts days."

"I wish we could just swim in the rain." I sighed. "But-"

" _Rule eleven: No campers must swim in rainy or stormy conditions."_ we chanted together, collapsing into giggles.

And another great afternoon has begun.

 ** **What do you think may happen next? It took me a while to write this chapter. And still Brooke has no idea of Della's true identity!****


	6. Chapter 6

****Right. It's time Brooke was told a little more about summer. We know what Meg and Jan's ex-bunkies did last summer, but she doesn't! Thanks for reviewing, Bloodylilcorpse and the guest reviewer.****

One afternoon, in the middle of the second week, Meg was the first to come back after Della left. She frowned. "Alone again, Brooke? You should come out with me tomorrow. I don't have a fixed buddy for canoeing since Jan's going with Jas. If you're at a loose end, you should come with."

I shrugged. "Well, I'm not good with boats. I get seasick. And I was only alone for like, two minutes. Della left just before you came in. Like, enough so you probably didn't see her leaving, but it wasn't long ago."

Meg frowned again. "You know, it's weird. You say you know this girl Della, but I know a lot of the girls at camp, and none of them have that name. What does she look like again?"

"Long blonde hair." I shrugged. "Pale blue eyes, slim, not tanned at all."

Meg paused, just as Jan came in, pulling her damp fair hair back into a ponytail. "What are you guys talking about?" she asked.

"Brooke's friend." Meg explained. "I don't get why I don't know her. We know most of the girls at camp, don't we, Jan? And I don't know anyone called Della."

"Nor do I." Jan said, just as Jasmine came in.

"Sorry, I heard half of that." she admitted. "I don't know anyone called Della, either. In fact, until this week, I didn't even know that was a name."

"It's kind of a vintage name." I explained, blushing. "But just because you guys don't know her doesn't mean she doesn't exist!"

There was a long pause. Meg and Jan looked sort of concerned. Jasmine, finally, was the one to speak up. "Brooke has a point. It's not fair just to imply that her friend is imaginary just because we haven't met her."

Jan was the first to reply. "Jas is right. Sorry, Brooke. The thing is, I know we don't know a Della, but her name sounds familiar. I'm just not sure where I heard it before."

Meg's brow furrrowed. "Actually, I think I remember something. I remember Briana telling me a story about someone called Della. I don't remember what it was about. But that was before you started coming to camp."

Jan shrugged. "Maybe Briana told me the story before she left camp last year, and I've just forgotten what it was about."

The two girls paused for a moment. Then Jan suddenly snapped her fingers. " _Now_ I remember it!"

"What?" Meg asked.

"Where I've heard the name Della before!" Jan said. "Sarah!"

"Of course!" Meg exclaimed. "How could I have forgotten? Sarah talked about it pretty much every day she was here!"

Jasmine immediately looked interested. "What happened there? It sounds interesting."

Jan smirked a little bit. "Okay, we'll tell you, but not yet. We are going to _have_ to use that as the basis for our scary campfire story!"

"I know I said I have no imagination," Jasmine said, "But I really want to hear this! If it's going to be the basis, can't you tell the actual story, bare bones, now?"

Meg and Jan exchanged glances. Jasmine and I waited. I didn't say so, but I really wanted to hear the story, too.

"I think we should tell them." Meg said finally. "Brooke should probably know, anyway."

Jan nodded. "We told you about Sarah already. Remember? She made a major fuss over the bunks, dissed Meg's height and then knocked over my bag and everyone saw the asthma medicines I had." (By this time, we all knew Jan was asthmatic). "Anyway, we were mad at her. We told you about how Meg and Briana put a snake down her back, and then she put spiders in their beds. Then I was forced to be her buddy the next day, when we went canoeing. And I...kinda tipped the canoe and then told Liz that Sarah did it. We had a major safety lecture around the campfire at night."

"As you can guess, Sarah was pretty unpopular by this time." Meg added. "We didn't like her, and by this point, no one else at camp did, either."

Jasmine gave a sigh. "Poor Sarah. I'm not surprised she didn't come back this year. It sounds like you guys were worse to her than she was to you."

"We're not proud of it." Jan said, looking ashamed of herself. "But the next day, Sarah couldn't find a buddy. So Liz said she'd just keep an extra eye on her and she could swim alone for once."

I gave a fake gasp. "Liz, letting someone breach the Buddy System? Never!"

We all laughed. "Yeah, but here comes a major part of the story." Meg said. "If Sarah _had_ had a buddy, it wouldn't have happened. The thing was, she dived down to the lake, and didn't surface. She almost drowned. If Liz hadn't noticed, she probably wouldn't have survived."

Jasmine and I both stared. We said nothing at all.

"She was fine," Jan stated reassuringly, "But that's when it got weird. It was fine for awhile. I mean, when Sarah came back to consciousness, she was suddenly all peppy. And that night, Briana said she thought we were being unfair, and we should give Sarah another chance."

"I wasn't sure at first," Meg admitted, "but we had definitely done enough, and she must've been really desperate to try drowning herself."

"I thought she did it for attention." Jan said. "I didn't _want_ to be nice to her. But Briana convinced me. So we all apologized to her, and things seemed to be better. Sarah wasn't as annoying as before – she seemed so happy to be friends with us. I think she just found it easier to be a nice person."

"She was more awkward than mean." Meg admitted. "I don't think she really meant to hurt me when she said she'd rather be her height than mine. She just didn't know how to respond. And she thought Jan's bag was hers – it wasn't really her fault all the medicines tipped out -it was just a textbook klutz move."

"And I guess I was set to make friends with her even after she got Richard to make Briana trade bunks with her." Jan added. "I guess I should've given her another chance, anyway."

"So where does Della come in?" Jasmine questioned, asking the question I'd been dying to ask myself.

"Well, that's the weird part." Jan said. "We were doing that swim, halfway out to the lake – you know, we did it a few days ago?" Jasmine and I nodded. We'd paired up as buddies for that activity. Everyone had to do it. "Anyway, halfway there, Sarah got all freaked out for no reason. Afterwards, she kept saying she saw a ghost. And that night, she had this nightmare. I didn't hear it, but Briana told us later on. She said Sarah had been whimpering. Anyway, afterwards, Sarah went on about how this ghost had been following her around – a former camper who had drowned at camp."

"That was confusing." Meg admitted. "No one ever drowned at Camp Cold Lake."

"So why are they so serious about water safety?" Jasmine asked. "I've been to other water sports camps, and they never take water safety as seriously as Liz does."

Meg giggled. "Liz was born without a sense of humour. It's just her thing."

"I think the gods switched out her sense of humour with her sense of responsibility." Jan chuckled. "So she has double responsibility and zero laughs in her."

"What happened next?" I asked. "Was there really a ghost?"

Jan and Meg shrugged. "No one really knows." Meg admitted. "Sarah just disappeared part of the way through camp. Briana said she told her to tell us goodbye, but she said she didn't know why Sarah left. I guess she _could've_ been harassed by a ghost, but she was probably just homesick or something."

"That's assuming the ghost existed." Jasmine pointed out. "Was Sarah the kind of person to make stuff up?"

The other two girls exchanged glances. "Kind of." Jan answered. "Well – she made a big deal out of things. The point of the story is, what Sarah said about the ghost was that her name was Della, that she'd drowned at camp and she wanted Sarah to drown too."

I frowned. "It can't be the same Della." I concluded out loud. "I never even see her at the lake!"

I could almost hear Jasmine thinking after I spoke. Then she said "Well...are you sure that's the reason? She came to this camp, right? Why _isn't_ she at the lake every morning? She came here to swim, right?"

"You have to admit, Brooke," Jan said, "It is a little weird that you know a girl with an old-fashioned name who we have never met, and she's never at the lake. And you said you hang out with her at the campfire, but whenever I glance at you through the flames, I can't see if there's anyone with you."

I tried to think of something. "Um...coincidence?" I offered weakly. "Della can't be a ghost. She's totally there – I can't see through her. And one time she hugged me, and I could feel it. She wasn't even cold – I'm pretty sure I couldn't feel a ghost's hug."

The girls seemed to accept it, but they still looked doubtful. I had to be sure of this. Della couldn't be a ghost.

Right?

 ** **Sarah wasn't exactly quiet about being stalked by a ghost girl. Also, the idea that Della feels like a normal person is actually a point brought up in book #22:** ** _Ghost Beach._** **There's a scene where Jerry ruffles Nat's hair, and he notices that Nat is solid and warm, not ghost-like at all. And if you've read that book, you'll know that Nat and his two older siblings are very like Della, although less obviously dead. So I guess my Della is a blend of canon Della and the Sadler kids...oh well.****


	7. Chapter 7

****Brooke may be adamant out loud when she says that Della isn't a ghost. But the seed of doubt is planted. Also, BTW, the urban legend Brooke tells Della is not mine.****

The second week passed normally, the same way the first week had. Well, mostly. The swim race came and went (Meg was my buddy that day). I still talked to Della every afternoon, but the girls' story kept swirling in my head. Every time I looked at Della, my mind asked: _Are you really a ghost? How can I see you if you are?_

It seemed almost impossible, but not quite. Della was such a _real_ girl. She wasn't particularly light or airy. When we sat next to each other on my bed, I could feel her weight. It was true she always wore white, but that didn't really mean anything.

But, on the other hand, it explained why she was never at the lake, or at the mess hall. Ghosts didn't need to eat, and I couldn't imagine a ghost swimming. And it also explained why her voice sounded sad when she sang the camp song. She sounded nice, but also a bit sad for no reason. I figured that if there was some secret as to why she sounded sad, she'd tell me when she felt like it, but so far, she hadn't. I didn't want to entertain the thought that my closest friend at camp wasn't even alive, but like it or not, the ghost story had taken hold now, and I couldn't shake it off. And what were the implications? If she'd tried to make another girl drown, why would she?

I didn't need anyone to tell me anything about Della's personality. Unless she'd been pretending to like me this whole time, I could say safely that Della was a really sweet person who just needed a friend to show it. She was energetic and a good listener, very sympathetic and hard not to like. I knew that she liked to find things funny, and that she had a lovely singing voice.

I knew enough about Della to know that I didn't want to fall out with her. But I still couldn't figure out if what the girls had told me was true. And I knew I couldn't just ask Della. If I was wrong, it would just sound weird.

And if I turned out to be right, well...I didn't even want to think about what might happen.

But by the end of the second week, I'd already started noticing the signs that Della was not quite...well, normal. It was true that no one really seemed to see her. I saw her, but at the campfires, she always sat alone, apart from me. No one even looked at her.

Then there was just the way she walked. If I didn't know better, I'd say she wasn't on the ground. It seemed as she was walking just slightly above it, almost floating.

I couldn't stand it after a while. On the second day of the third week, I decided to try and lead up to it. "Are you into ghost stories?" I asked that afternoon.

Della's face became thoughtful. "I don't know." she admitted. "I've never really thought about ghost stories. I like reading, but most of the stuff I read is all realism." She smiled. "Well, I guess it depends. I don't scare easily when it's about supernatural beings, but real concepts can frighten me. Like snakes and spiders and...well, you know those creepy urban legends? Like the ones about babysitters? They freak me out."

"Have you heard the one about the Japanese girl with the slashed smile?" I asked, sidetracked for a moment.

Della looked interested. "What's that one?"

"It was a girl who had her mouth slit from ear to hear. Now her spirit wanders around Japan, wearing a surgical mask, stopping many people, mostly children, and asking if they think she's pretty. If they say no, she kills them with scissors, and if they say yes, she takes off the mask and shows them her scars, then ask if they still think that. If they say yes, she slashes their face too, and if they say no, they get slashed in half."

Della smirked. "What if you say you don't know?"

I shrugged. "I know there are some ways to get out, but I've never heard of that one. If you say she's average, she gets confused and you can run away. It also confuses her if you ask her if she thinks _you're_ pretty. If you say you're in a hurry or have to meet someone, she'll apologize and let you go."

Della giggled. "Easy way out, then. If you ever run into her, just tell her I'm supposed to meet you at...um...one of those really pretty gardens in Kyoto, or the golden palace, or that ninja place."

I shrugged. "Or I could just say 'Am I pretty?' and make a run for it."

We both laughed. Then I remembered my goal. "Ghost stories are okay for me," I said, "As long as I don't think about them too hard. The girls in my cabin started telling me a ghost story last week and I can't forget it."

Della looked interested again. "Oh? What was that one about?"

"It was a summer camp story." I said. "A girl was really miserable, because she'd made a really bad start with her bunkies and they were making things hard for her. So she pretended to drown, so they'd feel sorry for her."

Della made a face. "Stupid idea. So does she wander the campground as a ghost?"

I shook my head. "No. She survived. But afterwards, she kept saying that a ghost was following her around, trying to make her drown for real."

I watched Della's face carefully. It didn't even flicker. Her expression was still merely interested. "What happened to her?"

I shrugged. "No one knows. She disappeared. Some people say she went home. My bunkies said it really happened, but I don't know if I believe it."

This time, Della's face did change. I wasn't sure of the expressions I saw. She looked sort of happy, then guilty, before her face settled back into a neutral stance.

Then her eyes narrowed. "They weren't by any chance talking about _this_ camp, were they?" she asked. I didn't get a chance to reply – my face said it all.

"I thought it was." Della said. "There's always been weird things happening around here. Not to me, but to other kids. Some of the regulars call it the curse of Camp Cold Lake."

"Sounds like a horror story." I joked, trying to lighten the mood.

Della shrugged, seeming happier too. "Nah. It's always about ghosts. Ghosts don't have to be scary. Some of them just need a friend."

Della hadn't admitted to it, but what she'd just said had only made it more likely that my bunkies were right. Maybe it wasn't true – not everyone thought ghosts were scary. But Della had just likened a ghost to herself – just wanting to have a friend. Whether she knew it or not, she'd made it sound enough like she was a ghost that I couldn't dispell the idea just yet.

I knew what I'd have to do. Take the bull by the horns and ask Della directly. After what she'd said, I knew it wouldn't be as scary as I'd thought. Besides, alive or dead, she was still _Della,_ my friend.

There was also something else to think about. Ever since I sent that one letter to my parents, I hadn't heard from them. I knew that if they'd gotten my letter, they would've written me back by now. And if they hadn't gotten it, they'd probably have written me a week later in case the first one got lost. But I hadn't received anything from them.

I was a little worried about that. I just hoped they'd come up on Visiting Day, like they'd said. It's not that I wanted to leave camp, not exactly. I still needed to sort the situation out. But I did miss my parents, especially since they hadn't written.

Oh well. Maybe they'd write soon. I'd write to them and remind them, just in case.

 ** **Visiting Day will be in the next chapter. Hope you liked this one!****


	8. Chapter 8

****Okay. Halfway through camp so far. Visiting Day is not far off!****

 ** **Oh yeah, and a mention of Bum Reviews. They belong to Channel Awesome, are performed by Doug Walker, and are not mine. And they all start with "Oh my God, this is the greatest movie I've ever seen in my life!" The scene Brooke acts out comes from his "Eclipse" review (watch the review, but the movie was pretty dull – BTW, Jacob isn't a werewolf, per se, he can turn into a wolf at will and his bites don't infect others). Thanks for reviewing, Bloodylilcorpse and Rya-plume d'un souffle.****

The next day, I posted the letter. In the afternoon, I confided in Della how I'd been worried. "You did remember to post the letter I sent, right? I don't know if they got it, because I haven't heard from them since."

"Of course I sent it." Della said firmly. "I think it must've gotten lost in the post. Half the campground was sending letters home that day. Even some of the teenage counselors were sending letters to their Mommy."

We both giggled. "That reminds me of this movie review I heard once." I remarked. "Not sure why, but it was really funny."

"Oh?" Della got that look in her eyes that practically screamed 'interested'.

I acted out one of the scenes. " _There's this girl, named Bella, who's the GREATEST ROLE MODEL I'VE EVER SEEN IN MY LIFE! She abandons her caring boyfriend for a boyfriend that just stares at her all day, always throws herself into danger and-"_ I had to stop because Della was laughing so much.

"Just stares at her all day!" she repeated. "What, is the boyfriend a zombie or something?"

"Try vampire." I quipped. "The caring one is from a long line of people who can turn into giant wolves for some reason."

Della giggled again. "Yeah, that plot sounds like a supernatural story."

She set me off laughing too, but I calmed down enough to tell her another part of the review. " _He's like 'I know you love me, will you come back to me?' 'Yes, if you PUT ON A FREAKING SHIRT!' 'NEVERRRR!'"_

Della and I both burst out laughing again. We laughed so much it hurt. When we finally stopped, we paused for a moment, not looking at each other. Then Della repeated "Put on a shirt?! No, never!" And it set us off all over again.

Okay, so we didn't stay so silly all afternoon. Near the end of it, I asked Della something. "You know, my parents might be coming down for Visiting Day. Do you want to meet them? They'd love to know that I've made a new friend."

Della hesitated, her face thoughtful and serious. "It's a coincidence that you should ask me that, actually." she said softly. "There was something I wanted to ask you connected to that." She paused again, before asking. "Will you be my buddy?"

I stared at her for a moment, not sure what to say. "You mean..." I stammered, "At the lake?"

"Of course!" Della nodded. "But not just once. I want to have the same buddy for ever."

I laughed nervously. "You mean for the rest of the summer?"

Della just shrugged. "You know what I mean. Please, Brooke? You're the closest friend I've ever made at this camp. Even though I always found someone to hang out with other years, you're the only one who knows me this way. Now I have no doubt that I can trust you. That's why I hadn't asked you to be my buddy before. But now, I think I can do it safely."

I was touched. But there was a question I had to ask. "But I never see you at the lake. Are you always there, just with a different buddy? Have I just missed seeing you every morning?"

"Not always." Della admitted. "I felt sort of under the weather a few times last week, so I didn't go swimming on those days. But it's kind of hard to pick out who's who when everyone's soaked, with hair dripping and goggles and swimming caps. My hair usually ends up way past my waist, as well as dark, if I get dunked. So it would've been pretty easy to miss me. I mean, you probably had to stick with whoever your buddy was on those days, anyway."

I didn't know what to say. I mean, I wanted to say yes, but my gut was telling me to say no. The ghost story my bunkies had told me said that Della followed Sarah around during camp. Had she asked Sarah to be her buddy?

"Can I decide next week?" I asked finally. "I don't want to abandon my bunkies just yet. They've been great to me. You don't have to talk to my parents if you don't want to."

Della smiled, not seeming hurt at all. "I understand." she said. "And it's okay – I'm a little shy about meeting your parents. That's why I wanted to bargain. It's not like you can't tell them about me. And it's not like you can't introduce them to your bunkies, either."

That's what I did on Visiting Day. My parents arrived, seeming very anxious. It turned out there had been some kind of mix-up, because they'd been sending letters to me that I hadn't received, and I hadn't gotten any of theirs.

"We were really worried about you, sweetheart!" Dad said as he hugged me.

"So," Mom said, "Do you like it here? Have you made any new friends?"

I laughed. "Pretty hard not to. The number one water safety rule is the Buddy System. I have to make some friends to make sure I keep that rule. I'll have to introduce you to my bunkies. I have another friend, Della, but she's kind of shy, so she asked me not to point her out."

Still, Mom and Dad both seemed to like Jasmine (who had suprisingly comfortable-looking parents, not quite overweight but cuddly and approachable), Meg (whose parents were almost as short as her) and Jan (who had obviously inherited her dad's fair hair and her mom's alto voice).

"I was really lucky to get them as bunkies." I told them. "Jan and Meg have been at camp before, so they know the ropes. They're both really nice and friendly. Jasmine's really nice, too."

"They seem like lovely girls." Mom said. "I'm so proud of you, honey. You seemed to have really opened up here. I knew you could."

"And I'm going to continue opening up for the next three weeks!" I smiled. "I'm sure you knew I already wanted to stay after all?"

Well, you can guess the reaction I got from my parents. Both smiles and hugs, maybe a few tears. But it was nice to see them. I was going to miss them for the next few weeks, but I had more important things to do, here at camp.

I knew I still couldn't give Della an answer. That was my first thing to take care of. Before I did anything else, or agreed to be her buddy, I needed to find out if she really was a ghost. And the only way to find out, was to ask her.

 **Sorry about the shortness of this chapter. And yes, just as I said. Brooke knows that if she's to be Della's buddy, she needs to know if her friend is alive or not.**


	9. Chapter 9

****Confrontation time! And something to know...I have now finished all 62 books in the Goosebumps series. Some were worth it, others were a waste. Thanks for reviewing, Bloodylilcorpse.****

The day after Visiting Day, Della breezed into my cabin in the afternoon as usual. Then she saw the nervous look on my face. "Brooke? What's wrong?"

"I have a question to ask you." I said shyly. " _Please_ don't be offended if I'm wrong, but there are a lot of signs, and even my bunkies have noticed."

"What's the question?" Della asked, her face full of concern.

"Are you a ghost?"

I didn't know how to say it, so I just blurted it out, completely straight. I couldn't think of another way to ask. I wanted to be tactful, but how tactful could it be to ask someone if they'd been dead for the whole time you'd known them?

Della's face went even paler than usual. At least, that's what I thought. Then I realized, to my complete horror, that I could see _straight through her_!

The girl I'd been friends with was transparent. I could still see her, but the wall behind her was visible, too.

Slowly, she stood up and walked over to me, becoming solid again. "I suppose you should know the truth." she said softly. "Yes. I am a ghost. But it doesn't mean I'm not your friend, Brooke! You have to believe me on this! I guess I knew I couldn't keep it up forever. I haven't lied to you, I swear. Everything I said was true. My parents _did_ send me here because of my chronic fear of drowning. I _have_ come to camp every year since. It's just I was only alive for the first two-and-a-bit years. And I suppose I should admit it here. Remember when I told you about the curse of Camp Cold Lake? That's sort of where I come in. But I didn't mean any harm. I just wanted a friend – a buddy."

I paused, thinking. Then I asked another question. "How are you solid?"

Della shrugged. "Don't ask me about ghost powers. I just got them – I don't really understand why. My natural state is transparency or invisibility, but I can look as solid as I want. And the reason your bunkies haven't seen me, and the reason you only see me here and at the bonfire, is because I only show myself to the people I want to see me, when I want them to see me. You're the only one who sees me at all, this year. You know, I was around, that first day at camp. I noticed you almost immediately, and that's why I decided to befriend you."

I thought about it. "What about the ghost story? The one my bunkmates told me? They said you followed someone around last year."

Della sighed. "Yeah, that was Sarah. I told you about her, remember? I told you about how she ditched me because she wanted to be friends with her bunkies."

"So...how long _have_ you been here?" I asked.

Della thought for a moment. "I'm stuck here all year around. I guess this would be my...twelfth summer? That's counting the ones I was alive for."

Something stirred in my memory. Something Meg had said. "What about the summer before last?" I asked. "Did you have a friend then? Meg said she had a friend who mentioned you."

Della looked sad for a moment. "Yeah – Briana. Thing was, we were never really friends. Briana didn't really like me. I think the ghost thing weirded her out. Is it any wonder I didn't tell you straightaway?"

That comment made things a little lighter. I reached out and touched her hand. She felt solid at the moment. My hand didn't go through her like I half-expected, even though she'd hugged me before. "I'm not weirded out." I said. "I mean, it's a shock, but I still believe you're my friend. And I believe it when you said you haven't lied to me. Why should I be scared of a ghost? I mean, you're still _Della._ "

My friend looked almost scarily pleased. "Really? You really mean that, Brooke? You still want to be my friend?" She threw her arms around me. "I thought you might have gotten scared after I admitted it to you. You looked afraid."

"I'm not afraid of you." I assured her. "It's just...you know how you asked me to be your buddy? I might need a little more time to answer that question. I mean, we're friends forever, no doubt, but how many times can I keep coming back to camp? You wanted me to be your buddy forever."

Della's face fell. "I didn't explain that fully. The thing is, I need a buddy to leave this camp. I'm stuck here until I have a buddy. That's why I make a different friend, every year. It never works out. Last year, Briana stole Sarah. And although it's usually not as bad as that, it's never worked out before. But I _need_ a buddy, someone who can stick by me forever. Then I can get out of this camp. If you agree to be my buddy, I could maybe come back to your home with you. Your parents would never have to know I was there. We could go to school together – I'd let the other kids see me – and I don't mind fitting in with your other friends. We could be just like sisters!"

I had to admit, the future Della was describing was very tempting. But I still had a feeling Della wasn't telling me everything. There was something she hadn't said.

So I said "Do I need to give you an answer now?"

"Of course not!" Della said. "I don't mind waiting, as long as you're still my friend. But if you're serious about not coming back next year, _please_ make your mind up before camp ends."

After that, we fell to talking about usual things. Something had changed between us, though. I felt both more relaxed and more nervous around Della than I ever had before. I was really happy that she'd admitted to me the truth. But at the same time, knowing for sure that she was a ghost made me a little afraid. I knew virtually nothing about supernatural forces and the dead communicating with the living.

I decided I'd need to pump Meg and Jan for more information about the ghost story. So when Della was gone and they came back from afternoon swimming, I asked them.

"You know that ghost story you told me a couple weeks ago? There was some more info I wanted to know."

Meg looked unsure. "How come? We pretty much told you everything."

Then the memory came. "The story said that Sarah said Della wanted her to drown, right? Did she say anything else?"

Meg looked at Jan, saying "You knew her better than I did. What did she say?"

Jan paused, thinking. "Not really anything else." she admitted. "I think she kept saying that Della wanted her to drown so Sarah would be her buddy or something-"

I couldn't help interrupting. "She definitely said that?"

Jan shrugged. "I don't know. I think that's what Sarah said, but you'd have to talk to her to find out, and I don't know how to track her down."

Still, that was majorly scary. I had thought there was something Della wasn't telling me, but I hadn't guessed that. Did that mean...if I was her buddy...

Did I have to die?

 ** **I know, a lot of information in a very short space of time. Della has no intention of letting Brooke leave the camp alive. But she also knows if she doesn't give Brooke that choice, it'll be very unlikely Brooke will still want to be her buddy. Her only choices are getting Brooke killed accidentally-on-purpose, or have her commit suicide.****


	10. Chapter 10

****It's time for Brooke to make a choice. Thank you for reviewing, Nicky Haugh and Bloodylilcorpse.****

For the next few days, I went swimming in the afternoons. I didn't want to talk to Della until I decided whether I wanted to talk to her about the dying thing.

I was really torn for the moment. I wanted Della to stay my friend, but I didn't want to have to die to keep her friendship. I pondered over what I knew as I swam that first day, keeping an eye on my buddy.

Then I thought about the things Della had said. She couldn't leave Camp Cold Lake without a buddy. She had to be stuck here on her own all year round. If I agreed to be her buddy, we could leave together. And...well… what about my parents? If I could go anywhere, and be visible if I wanted, did that mean I could just pretend to be normal, and have no one be the wiser? What disadvantages did I have?

I knew I needed to ask Della some more questions about what being dead...or, I guess, undead...entailed. But I didn't want to face her just yet.

I swam on Wednesday and Thursday uninterrupted. Then, when I gave in and let Jasmine drag me into canoeing on Friday (and surprisingly didn't get sick, despite thinking I was going to), I heard a voice yelling from the shore.

"Brooke! Hey, Brooke!"

Della was standing on the shore, calling to me. "It's OK, you're the only one that can hear me right now!" she called. "Why are you avoiding me? Look, can we talk? I thought you said you were still my friend! After your activity's over, meet me at the campfire pit! Please? If you don't want to be friends with me, I can take it!"

What could I have done? I caught her eye, and nodded as a sign that I would talk to her later.

Della was waiting for me. No one else was around. "Finally!" she said as I ran up to her after I got dressed. "I thought you weren't coming."

"I'm sorry I haven't talked to you since Tuesday." I said sincerely. "It's just...well, I'll explain in a minute. I just need to ask you a few more questions."

Della nodded, and I asked my main one. "What are the disadvantages of being, you know...like you? A ghost?"

Della thought about it for a moment, and then said "Being tied to one place is the worst one. It's probably different for different people. You see, the way I died means that I can still eat and most of my organs still work. It's just my heart that doesn't. But I'm guessing that people who died of illness and had other parts of their body shut down – if they even become ghosts, I don't know how it works – won't be able to do those. If I had to die at all, I was probably lucky to go the way I did."

I noticed that she avoided explaining how she died. That supported my theory that she wanted me to die, too. If I didn't know how she went, if she tried to lure me towards death, I wouldn't know until it was far too late. I knew she hadn't drowned, but that left so many different explanations. But all I did was ask my next question.

"What about advantages? Is there anything good about it?"

Della's pause was longer, this time. "I guess it's nice to be able to disappear when I don't feel like socializing." she admitted. "And I can fly, sort of." To prove it, she floated up from the ground and hovered over me for a moment. "I can't go that high. But it's kind of a cool power." She came back down. "If I could only leave the camp, maybe I'd feel like a normal kid. My parents know I'm dead, but..." Her eyes shone. "That's why I need you, Brooke. If I go home with you, I can live the same way you do, and your parents wouldn't even know I was there. Even though I can eat and things, I don't actually _need_ to."

"I have one more question." I said shyly. "I think there's something you're not telling me. You haven't told me _how_ you died, and being your friend is not the same as being your buddy. Do I have to die to be your buddy?"

I didn't need Della to answer that. Her expression said it all. Her face fell, she went pale (for real this time) and her eyes welled up.

"I guess I know." I murmured. At that moment, Della took my hands, starting to sob.

"You must hate me!" she wept. "I mean, if you figured that out. But I swear, I'm not just using you as a means to get out of here. I really do want to be your friend! I just want you to _stay_ my friend. I do this every year, but you're the first time I've made an effort with, and so I like you a lot more."

I had to ask. "Have other people died here?"

Della kept sobbing, but she managed to choke out some words. "Briana...on the last day of camp. She didn't want to be my buddy, though. She hated me. Then she pretended to be alive the next year, and declared she'd protect the next girl. Then she took Sarah away from me. I didn't kill her, but Sarah didn't live. Briana let her die. And they were still each other's buddy forever. They've left camp now. I don't know what happened, but they could leave. It's no wonder Briana didn't come back." She kept crying. "I'm really really sorry, Brooke, but please! I wouldn't ask this of you if I didn't have to. I just told you the only disadvantage – and that won't be a disadvantage if we're each other's buddy."

"But I don't want to die!" I protested. "I'm sorry you can't get out without someone, but why should I be the one to give up my life? And now I know that you always planned to kill me, how can I trust anything else you've told me?"

"You can!" Della insisted tearfully. "I gave you the choice, didn't I? I haven't lied to you. I always tell you the truth when you ask me. I really want to stay friends with you, Brooke. Please, don't hold my methods against me – I can't help being dead. And even if I was planning it, I didn't put you through anything like I did with Sarah, or the other girls I tried with. And if you do by chance decide to be my buddy, it won't be too painful."

I waited for her to elaborate.

"I tricked Sarah." she admitted. "I tried to scare her away from the lake. I even ran her over with a speedboat. Then she ended up trying to escape through the forest. Then when she said she wasn't going to drown like me, I told her that I hadn't drowned. I hated having to scare her, and it didn't work. That's when I worked out that I needed to find a friend before I found a buddy."

"And you figured that friend would be your buddy?" I said, still angry. "I still can't believe this!"

"I told you, you wouldn't have a disadvantage!" Della repeated. "Not with me by your side. And..." she paused. Then she asked softly "Would you like me to tell you my story?"

I was curious, so I nodded. We sat on the stumps, and Della pointed out two angry red pinpricks on her ankle. "That's how I died. I got bored of listening to one of the water safety lectures. So I sneaked off into the woods-"

"The woods that are full of deadly snakes?" I said. "So that means..."

Della nodded. "That's what that mark is. Snakebite. It took about one minute for the poison to get into my heart. That was it. But it doesn't hurt much, really – it's just like a bee sting."

"That can hurt a tonne." I pointed out.

"It would hurt more suffocating from drowning." Della said logically. "I understand if you don't like the idea, Brooke, but please? Just consider it? And even if you can't do that, can you at least be my friend until camp ends? Please?"

I took a breath...and made a decision. I managed to smile at Della. "We're still friends." I said. "But no more secrets, and no more thinking about how you want to kill me."

Della laughed a little. "Not going to happen, Brooke, I swear. But...I should say this now, something I kept from you. That letter I said I'd post for you? I never posted it. I forgot that you could still be with your parents and...but it doesn't matter. You've got a correspondence with your parents now, right? Since Visiting Day?"

Somehow, I couldn't find it in me to be mad at Della any more, especially since she was right – things were fine with my family. So I smiled back at her. "Thanks for telling me."

 ** **Well, at least there aren't any more secrets between them now. I feel sorry for Della, to be honest – I always did. But she really shouldn't be trying to stalk and kill people.****

 ** **BTW, what do YOU think Brooke should do? Let me know in a review!****


	11. Chapter 11

****All right. Brooke is going to have to make a decision. Thanks for reviewing, Rya-plume d'un souffle and Bloodylilcorpse.****

The rest of the fourth week and the fifth week passed normally. It was pretty much exactly how it was before I found out Della was a ghost.

There was just one difference. I could see Della was getting more nervous about my decision. It made me feel so guilty just for wanting to grow up and live. As the last week of camp approached, my resolve to stay alive was being heavily swayed. Sometimes I'd be thinking about what I wanted to do when I grew up – be that Olympic swimmer I'd dreamed of for the last couple of years. How could I give that up? Not to mention, there were a lot of things I hadn't experienced yet. I'd never even had my first period! Would I still get to have that, if my body was frozen in time?

But when I was hanging out with Della, we'd be laughing together and I'd think how I could never give up her friendship. I had other friends, but it wasn't going to be easy for me to make more as I grew up. And Della would have to wait another year to find just one friend – maybe even longer to find someone who would literally die for her.

I think that was what clinched it. What made my decision final. I made my resolve at the start of the sixth week, but I decided not to tell Della straightaway. I didn't think about it for the first three days of the week. When only four remained, it happened.

Della brought it up, hesitantly. "Um, Brooke? I was just thinking. It's nearly the end of camp. You're going home on Sunday, and it's already Wednesday. Have you decided yet?"

I nodded slowly. "I made it a few days ago, but I decided to wait until I was sure. It's going to be hard, but...and I don't know if this is the right decision, but...I'm sticking with you. Friends make sacrifices for each other, and you're my closest friend here. I may have known all my other friends from kindergarten, but that just makes it more special – you being the first friend I've made on my own without having to grow up with you. You're my buddy, and we're going to be buddies forever."

"Buddies forever." Della echoed. She threw her arms around me joyfully, laughing with happiness. "Oh, Brooke, you had me so scared! I thought for sure you'd rather go back to your old life than stick with me! You're the best friend ever!"

"But..." I paused. "How long can I stay at home?"

Della paused, frowning too. "I guess we'll have to stage a death. Maybe in two years? That's about how long you can pretend to be growing older without changing at all seeming suspicious. Maybe you can come back to this camp, like Briana did. Then stage a death – pretend to die like I did – then we can go from there. I'm sorry, Brooke, but it's the only thing you can do – unless you change your mind."

I took a deep breath. "No." I said firmly. "I said I'd do it, and I will."

"Okay." Della agreed. "But we need to do it at the right time. Thing is, you _are_ going to leave a corpse behind, and we can't have anyone knowing the truth. We need to do it at night after Lights Out, so you can get back to your cabin before any of your bunkies wake up. Shall we say midnight? Let's meet at the campfire pit. I'll take care of everything else. "

After that, she started chattering brightly about something trivial. I knew she was trying to take my mind off how scary this whole situation was, and I was grateful for it. Besides, I could tell what she would've liked to talk about – what we'd do once we got back to my home on Sunday night. But there were still three afternoons when we could do that.

That night, every little thing felt monumental. Chatting to my bunkies, having dinner, even sitting at the campfire with Della as usual. As we left, she whispered "Midnight" again, just to remind me, and I nodded.

So at five minutes to midnight that night, I crept out of the cabin. It didn't feel real to me. I wasn't really feeling anything. My nerves didn't scream for me to go back, and I couldn't feel my feet padding across the pathway.

Della was waiting for me by the campfire pit, just as she'd said. She sprang up as she saw me. "You came!" she exclaimed in a whisper. "I was starting to worry that you'd changed your mind and just didn't have the chance to let me know." She looked into my face carefully and said "You haven't just come to tell me that, have you?"

I shook my head slowly. "Am I late?"

"No." Della smiled in relief. "I just couldn't believe that it was finally happening. Now come on." She began pulling me towards the forest. The dangerous one. The one that was full of deadly snakes.

Still my fear of death didn't seem to kick in. I still felt absolutely nothing. We only got a little way into the forest when Della let me go and perched on a low branch. "We'll just have to wait until one of them comes out." she informed me. "You know, it was here that I told Sarah why I'd tried to scare her away from the lake. Exactly here. At least, this time, there's not much chance that someone like Briana will come in and ruin everything."

At that point, a thought hit me. "Is that why you hate snakes? Because you died from one of them biting you?"

Della smiled. "I didn't think you'd remembered when I said I hated snakes. But that's right. I might not hate them quite as much now, if they get me a permanent buddy."

It didn't take long to get a snake's attention. "Don't move." Della instructed gently. She hopped down from the branch and put her arm around me, solid as ever. "I'm only solid to you right now, not the snake." she added. "It won't hurt that much, just wait for it..."

Della wasn't quite right. The bite hurt. It wasn't like a bee sting, though. It actually hurt less than I had imagined, and once it was done, the snake slithered away, obviously scared (well, biting was a defense mechanism).

Della helped me into a lying position. "It won't be long." she whispered comfortingly. "Just close your eyes. I'll tell you when it's over."

There was one thing Della hadn't told me. It didn't take long – she was right about that, but that split second before I heard her say "Okay, open your eyes," I felt a horrible shudder go through me.

Then I opened my eyes, and stood up. Della smiled at me. "I'm guessing you don't want to see what's happened to the old you."

I wasn't sure. I half wanted to see, but at the same time, I didn't. I slowly turned, and I saw what was left of the old me. I didn't look any different, apart from the fresh wounds on my ankle, still slightly bleeding.

"You're okay, aren't you?" Della asked me. The concern was clear on her face.

"I...I think I'm okay." I murmured. "Well, obviously I'm dead, but..."

Della nodded. "I guess before anything else, we need to make sure you're solid. Thing is, you and I will be solid and visible to each other all the time. But to the living, you'll either be invisible, solid or transparent at will. All you need to do is will yourself to be whatever you want to be to each person."

"What if I want to be visible to everyone?" I asked.

"Just don't think of a particular person. Then you will be in the same state to everyone." Della advised. "I picked up on these things in the last nine and a bit years – and freaked quite a few people out on half of my third time at camp, since they knew I was dead. I used to wish I could hang out with some of them, and then accidentally showed myself to them." She hugged me again. "You don't know how much I appreciate you doing this for me, Brooke. Now go back to your cabin, quick!"

I kept myself invisible until I was back in the cabin. But I had to make myself solid to draw back the covers, get back into bed, and fall asleep.

 ** **Yes, Brooke is dead. But just because she's not in the world of the living doesn't mean that her life doesn't go on. The story's not over yet! Stay tuned!****


	12. Chapter 12

****Time to go home! (And about the email addresses...please don't mention it, I'm treating this as being in the 2000s). And oh yeah...I reference this book series as if this one wasn't one of the books. Thanks for reviewing, Bloodylilcorpse and Nicky Haugh.****

The last few days at camp passed peacefully. I spent them the same way I'd spent every day at camp. There wasn't too much of a point to doing anything else. I might as well have been alive for all of it for all the difference it made. The only reason I knew I wasn't was because...well, I made myself invisible a few times. Once, Jasmine even walked straight through me, having no idea I was there.

Well, there was also the snakebite marks on my ankle, but I wasn't ready to look at those yet.

Finally, the last day of camp came. My bunkmates actually asked to exchange email addresses with me so we could stay in touch.

"I'm definitely coming back next year, too!" Jasmine remarked. "Are you guys going to come back?"

Meg shrugged. "It's a couple more years until I get too old to come here, so sure, I'll be back next year."

"Me too." Jan chipped in. "How about you, Brooke?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe I'll come back. I had fun, so I probably will."

"It sucks that we probably won't get to room together next year, though." Jasmine sighed.

"Actually," Meg said, "You can request bunkmates if you know they're coming back. I requested Briana last year, and Jan this year. If we all request each other, we'll be together again next year." She grinned.

"Well, Brooke," Jan laughed, "That means you better let us know by next May whether you're coming back or not."

"Don't worry, I will!" I laughed. "Don't forget to email!"

Della had been right about needing a buddy to leave the campground. When we got into my parents' car, she breathed a happy sigh that no one but me could hear (she was invisible and flimsy to the living for the moment, but I was still solid to everyone). I was, for the moment, the only one who could see and hear her, so we couldn't talk on the way home. Instead, I chatted to my parents about how fun camp was, and they told me about how they'd been doing for the last six weeks. Occasionally, I'd catch Della's eye, and she'd pull a face, trying to make me laugh. I kept a straight face mostly, but sometimes I pulled faces back at her, and she had a hopeless poker face, laughing every time. It was lucky I was the only one who could hear her.

My parents must've noticed that there was a difference in me. I was actually a lot more outgoing. Okay, I was still shy, but although the only people I got close to were Della and my bunkies, I felt more like I was ready to meet new people (not that I would this year, going into eighth grade – next year would be another story). And to be honest, I sort of felt indestructible.

I think I'd sort of gone through most of those stages of knowing I was going to die before I knew it myself. I denied it to myself, then I got angry at Della for wanting me to die, then I kind of skipped bargaining and depression and came up with acceptance. And now that it was done and dusted, I felt as if I was already over it. Still, it made me feel weird, me knowing I wasn't really there, but my parents having no idea that my old self was buried somewhere in the South Dakota woods.

The first night home, though, was a lot of fun. Della, although she didn't have to stick to me now she was out of the one place she would have been stuck to without me, stayed. When I was with my parents, she mostly kept out of the way. But otherwise, we were inseparable. We treated that night like a sleepover, playing games, telling each other ghost stories that were a lot less simple than our own. Then Della brought up a question.

"About fifteen years ago, I used to read this horror series for kids." she said. "I mean, I was about...I don't know, seven, maybe eight? There were 61 books in the series, I think. I can't remember the author, though...or the name of the series. It was just short little horror stories that were supposed to be kind of funny...you know, all supernatural stuff. Summer camps were on there, too. That's why I was reminded of it."

A faint memory of some books with weird covers surfaced in my head. "Oh yeah, I think I know the books you're talking about! There was one cover that freaked me out. No guy could have a smile that huge."

Della giggled. "Did you read the books about the evil green goo?"

I laughed with her. "I read one about evil blue goo that was meant to be green. It was ridiculous, though. What about that evil doll?"

"Oh, that thing was creepy!" Della shivered. "Why did he always go after girls, that's what I wanted to know. I mean, what was he going to do, make them play battered housewife, or get a human body and so something worse to them?"

"Ewww!" I squealed. "Della, _seriously_!"

My friend shrugged. "What? I may look and feel twelve, but I've been hanging around on Earth for twenty-two years. Plus, you hear this stuff from the older campers. I'm surprised you didn't."

I rolled my eyes. "I know the facts. I just didn't want to think about girls getting splinters around that area."

Della burst out laughing. "Now why wasn't that mentioned in the books? Splinters, I mean, not necessarily there. He certainly attacked the victims enough for them to get one accidentally from his attacks." She paused, thinking. "I'm trying to think if there was a book kind of like us."

I paused, thinking too...then it came to me. "That one with those twins!"

"Which ones? There were a lot of twins." Della pointed out.

"I don't remember their names...I just remember they went to this beach, and met these three kids. And..."

"The kids turned out to be ghosts." Della finished. "Now I remember! They even made graves for the kids, didn't they? And up until the end, the twins didn't believe the kids were ghosts." She grinned mischeviously. "I guess we know why it's easy to fool the living."

We spent the last month of summer just hanging out. Some of my friends from school were home, so I introduced them to Della. It was fun, doing nothing all month except hanging out. No structure, no wake-up bell, no Lights Out. It was a great life.

Even though, when I thought about it, could I consider it a life?

 **** ** **Yeah. Does Brooke seem a little too positive to you? She does to me, at least.****


	13. Chapter 13

****I don't know what's going to happen next. I'm just going to let my fingers fly over the keyboard and see what I come up with.****

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 ** **That went well. OK, I'll think about what I'm writing, but I don't know what I'll end up with yet. Thanks for reviewing, Bloodylilcorpse and Lord Candycane.****

School restarted. Homework restarted. Sitting at the lunchtable with a bunch of kids I'd known since kindergarten restarted.

And that was the worrying thing. Della stuck close to me when she could. She'd managed to apply to the school by forging her parents' signatures when she had to and fobbing the school off to avoid them insisting on meeting them, and she had managed to get into my homeroom. We had pretty much all our classes together too, since our electives were all tasters this year (that would change next year).

But the thing was, all my friends were long-time friends. We always stuck together, and never had a new kid tried to break into our group. Until now.

My friends were not very accepting of Della. They didn't say anything to her, but they made it clear that she wasn't wanted by making a point of turning away to talk to another person on the table. And although they never said anything mean to Della's face, when she wasn't around, they were not at all nice.

One day, when Della said she felt like taking time off and called in sick with flu ("It's not like it's going to matter if my grades slip – you still have parents to impress, but I have nothing" she pointed out), the discussion about her really got going.

"Where's the magnet today?" Tara asked me. "Lost her charge?"

"Ha ha." I said sourly. "I guess she's ill. She doesn't exactly call and tell me if she doesn't feel well enough."

"I wish she'd never started at this school at all." Brandy said bluntly. "Or if she had to, why couldn't she pal up with another new kid, instead of always hanging around us?"

"Oh, she has her reasons." Ginny laughed unkindly. "It's obvious. She's been attaching herself to Brooke ever since she got here. She doesn't _want_ to hang with a new kid – she wants to be one of us because she wants to be Brooke's best friend."

All eyes turned to me. I didn't know what to say. "Well...um...you see, the thing is..."

"Oh, don't act like you haven't noticed, girl!" Ginny said impatiently. "She always sits next to you, is always talking to you, and is only interested in you. She doesn't care about the rest of us. She just likes Brooke."

Emily, who so far had said nothing, leaned forward, eyes round. "I don't get it, though. Why would she just want to have one friend and not the rest of us?"

This had gone far enough. I cleared my throat. "I introduced her to you during the summer, remember? Didn't I say how I knew her?"

My friends shook their heads.

"We were at camp together." I explained. "And Della's shy. I'm sure she does want to be friends with you all, too, but she's more comfortable talking to me because she knows me so well."

"Whatever." Brandy shrugged it off. "It doesn't mean she has an excuse to be in our group."

But Emily paused, looking around. Finally, she said "I'm willing to give her a chance. Why not? Just because we don't know her doesn't mean she's not nice."

There was a long pause. Then Tara smiled. "Okay. I'll give her a chance if you want to, Em. Just one chance, though."

" _I'm_ not going to." Brandy said stubbornly, eyeballing Ginny, just daring her to agree with us.

She just shrugged. "I'm not going to take sides. I won't hinder her chances, or make things easier for her, but I bet that even if you give her a chance, you'll see I'm right. She only wants Brooke as a friend."

I told Della about that conversation that night. She thought about it, and then said "I guess they're sort of right. I'm only trying to be in your group because of you, but it doesn't mean I _don't_ want their friendship. All I want is to be part of your group. Now that I'm out of the camp, it would be nice if I could just do whatever I want." She paused, looking thoughtful. Then she grinned mischievously. "Think it would change anything if I told them the truth about myself?"

"You're kidding!" I said incredulously. "I mean, you didn't tell _me_ until I asked. And imagine their reactions! Tara's pretty unscarable, but Emily would freak out, Brandy would hate you even more, and Ginny would straightaway think you were up to something."

Della gave a shrug. "We'll just see what happens. Maybe when I know them better, I'll tell them. But if you're so convinced it'll scare the girl who actually said she'd give me a chance, I'll keep quiet for now." She suddenly made herself transparent and floated a few inches in the air, not too near to the ceiling but clearly above the ground.

"I feel like I'm hallucinating when you do that." I commented.

Della laughed at me. "You know you can do that, too. Why don't you? Maybe it'll feel more real when you're flying."

So I willed myself up a few inches too. Della grinned and we both "sky strolled" outside, making ourselves invisible so we wouldn't scare anyone.

Onward, Della found being in our group a little easier. She made an effort to talk to some of my other friends, to the point that Ginny had to admit she was wrong. As for Brandy, she stopped making things hard for Della. She still didn't initiate any conversation, but she stopped pointedly trying to talk to another member of our group when Della addressed a comment towards her. Although, the person in our group Della got along best with turned out to be Tara. We considered her the "brave" one of the group because she showed no fear, loved horror movies, and kept watching R-16 things with her older brother (apparently she made him let her watch, but he got into big trouble if his parents found out he let her watch them too). But something about Della appealed to her. Maybe it was the sly, sinister part of Della. She had such a sweet personality, it was easy to forget that she'd once lured preteens to the woods to have them die like her. Of course, Tara didn't know of that, but she seemed to sense it, and before long, when Della wasn't with me or the whole of our group, she and Tara would be whispering to each other and cracking up laughing.

Life was starting to get on track. Nothing could make me happier.

 ** **Yeah, Brooke, I totally believe that you're enjoying life...er...death. And I just want to know...anyone get the reference with the names of Brooke's friends? And just so you know, despite any similarities they may have to their namesakes (hint hint), they are not the same people. Bonus points if you can name the four books I'm referencing!****


	14. Chapter 14

****Hey. I'm back! And so is Brooke.****

 ** **Thanks for reviewing, Rya-plume d'un souffle (not quite), Bloodylilcorpse and Lord Candycane.****

 ** **Brooke's friends are named after Goosebumps sisters. So: Tara is the terror (she even acts evil at the age of two) from "The Cuckoo Clock Of Doom", Brandy is the brat from "Egg Monsters From Mars", Ginny is the karate girl from "Bad Hare Day", and Emily is the annoying big sister from "The Werewolf Of Fever Swamp".****

The months passed peacefully. Everything felt exactly the it had when I was alive. The thing was, I never really felt normal any more.

I really wanted to tell my friends the truth. But what would happen if I did? I already knew how everyone would react. Plus, I'd have to explain how I died, and I couldn't bluff my way through that. I'd have to tell them how Della was involved, and I didn't want them to start hating her all over again.

There was one more thing that was really picking at me, and that was my parents. Just after Christmas, I started to realize it. If I went through with the plan, this would be the second-to-last Christmas I ever had with them. And even worse, I was supposed to be turning thirteen near the end of February. I would _never_ be thirteen. I'd spend the rest of my existence as a skinny little twelve-year-old. I didn't get how I could have done this. The full force of what dying meant was finally starting to catch up to me.

Ghosts are more intuitive than people. With my parents and friends, I could paste on a smile, insist everything was OK and they'd leave me alone. Della instantly knew how I felt, and guessed at why I was feeling that way.

"It takes a while to sink in." she said softly. "You know, even if I hadn't told you the truth, we'd still be here now, doing the same things. I mean, I'd still want you as my buddy, whether you'd chosen to die or not."

"And that only makes it worse." I murmured. "I let myself die, and now I have to exist with the consequences. I don't want to leave my mom and dad. I don't want to leave my friends! I want to be alive again."

That was it. I'd said it out loud. And then I broke down in tears.

I think Della knew that nothing she could say at this point would be enough. She just put her arms around me and let me cry on her shoulder. I half wanted to push her away, yet still, I couldn't find it in myself to be angry at her. After all, she was just as much a victim as I was, even if she had somehow become the one who victimized me.

That made it worse still. I'd consciously made the decision to join her in death. She hadn't known that leaving the campfire for the woods was essentially walking into a death sentence, while I had. In the nineteenth century, if anyone had done that, they would've killed themselves in despair, sure that they'd be going to hell. As it was, I was trapped in purgatory.

After that day, things sort of became real. I started withdrawing from the world, sort of as a form of preparation. If I only had a year and a half to be with these people, I had to unattach myself from them. But the whole time, I was conscious of doing it, feeling incredibly guilty that it was what I had to do.

The only time I really felt anything close to happiness was when it was just me and Della, on our own. After all, we were the only ones who really knew each other inside out. But the thing was, when we were around other people, like our friends, Della didn't have the same problem I did. She never seemed to feel like she had to keep her distance and not stay unattached.

Only one of my friends noticed, and it was Ginny. One day, when Brandy and Emily were away and we were sitting at the table, with Della and Tara giggling together over something, Ginny pulled me aside. "Are you all right, Brooke?" she asked. "You've been acting weird for awhile now."

"I'm fine." I insisted, probably doing a terrible job at lying. I wasn't ever a good actor. "What do you mean, I've been acting weird?"

Ginny raised her eyebrows at me. "Come on, Brooke. You barely talk to us any more. You sort of just sit there, looking all pale and drawn like you're pretending you're not here. And you never see us outside of school, either. Emily's noticed – she told me that she's worried about you. And I haven't said anything to her, but I can tell Della's noticed, too. I see her giving you these anxious looks when you're not looking at her." She paused. "We're your friends. You can tell us what's wrong."

Before I could stop myself, my words spilled out. "I can't! Not Emily. She'd be scared out of her mind. And you know what Brandy's like – she'd hate me. And-"

"Well, if you can't tell them, just tell the rest of us." Ginny insisted. "We won't hate you. If it's really that frightening or worrying, we won't tell the others. You know Tara won't hate you or get scared, and I swear I won't, either. I won't even ask questions if you don't want me to." She paused, and then said "Are you going to tell Della?"

It was do or die...well, so to speak. Do and die, I guess. I mean, okay, I wasn't going to kill any of them – I had my BFFD (Best Friend For Death) already, but I'd have to tell them I was dead. And no matter what Ginny said, I knew she'd ask questions. I mean, like I said, I wanted to tell my friends. But how would they take it?

Finally, I spoke. "It's about last summer. Della already knows. We'll have to go somewhere quiet where no one will see us, but I'll tell you both. Della can help me – she knows more about it than I do. But _promise_ you won't hate her when you hear it."

Ginny raised her eyebrows at me, but said "Okay, I promise. As long as I can use my karate on her if I don't like what I hear."

I laughed – the first time I had laughed in a while. "Sure, okay." If Della made herself transparent, she wouldn't even feel a kick.

So after the four of us left the cafeteria, we headed for a secluded place under the trees. "So what's the big secret?" Tara asked. Her brown eyes were lit up. She knew something big was going on, but she didn't seem to know that it was something as serious as it was.

"Well..." I mumbled. "Thing is, I'm...I'm not like the rest of you. Over the summer, at camp, I...um..."

Della, seeing I didn't know what to say, took over. "It's not really on Brooke, the secret she has. It's me – I guess I should start. I'd gone to the same camp a few times. Thing is, another summer, I got bored of listening to a major water safety lecture, and sneaked off into the woods. But the problem is-"

"The woods surrounding the camp were infested with deadly poisonous snakes." I continued for her. "And..."

I didn't say any more. I didn't need to. Ginny and Tara were staring at both of us. I knew they didn't believe what we were getting at for the moment.

"I can give you proof." Della offered. She showed them the bite on her ankle. "It'll never heal."

Tara tilted her head to one side, staring at the blonde. "But if you died, then that would make you a ghost. You don't have any ghost qualities, though."

Della gave a sigh. "I can look as alive as I want. But watch this." She made herself transparent, and then hovered in the air for a second, before going back into normal mode. "And people can only see and hear me if I want them to. Throughout camp, I only let Brooke see me."

Tara seemed to accept this, but Ginny was looking wary, glancing from Della to me. I could tell she had a good idea of how this story ended. "Brooke, are you nuts?" she exclaimed without asking. "How did this even happen?"

"Ginny, you don't even know what I'm going to say." I protested. "And you promised not to hate me. Just because Della's a ghost, it doesn't make her evil. Some ghosts just need a friend."

Tara's eyes widened as the penny dropped. She looked at me carefully. "What did you do?" she asked.

"Same thing." I said, not wanting to incriminate Della. I'd have to stretch the truth, just a little bit. "I didn't know about the snakes – well, maybe I did, but I'd forgotten. Della did tell me about it, but it was too late. But I couldn't have coped with it as well as I have so far if it wasn't for her." I made myself invisible, but able to be heard for a moment. "I can do this, as well." I came back into solid view.

My friends were staring, open-mouthed. Ginny recovered first. "But that doesn't explain why you've become all quiet and moody, and not properly here."

"Yeah, that's true." Tara agreed. "I don't care if you're dead or a ghost or whatever. What's wrong with it?"

I didn't say anything. I didn't think they'd understand if I did. At least, having two of my friends know the truth made things feel a little better.

 ** **So now Tara and Ginny know! Also, just realized I made a screw-up. Emily's name should be Krissy or Mitzi, following the same format as the names of Brooke's other friends ("Why I'm Afraid Of Bees" or "Attack Of The Mutant"). Oh well, I like the name Emily better anyway – it's actually my middle name.****


	15. Chapter 15

****Okay. I've been thinking, and it's time to see a little more of canon! Thanks for reviewing, Nicky Haugh, Bloodylilcorpse and the guest reviewer.****

During the fall break, Mom and Dad and I went on a weekend trip to North Dakota. I was pretty excited about it, because Della was, of course, along for the ride, and she offered to show me around her old home. Plus she wanted to see how it had changed over the last ten years,

"I wonder if my family still lives there?" she mused on the car ride (she was invisible to my parents of course, so I was the only one that could hear her). "I kind of hope not – I don't want to run into them, knowing my own boredom and ignorance took me away from them."

I paused, wanting to answer, then tore a page out of my notebook to ask " _Can I keep from being heard without turning invisible?"_ I knew I could be heard while invisible if I wanted, but not the other way around.

Della read the note, then said " I think so. Try it."

It turned out I could. So I answered "Don't beat yourself up over it. You didn't know you were going to die."

"I know," Della admitted softly, "But still. It's not easy." She shared a sad smile with me. "I'm sort of used to it now," she admitted, "But that first year, when I was stuck at a deserted camp winter and summer alike? I cried every day. Then I started planning to find someone who could get me out of there." Her expression became happier. "I'm glad it was you. I mean, I'm actually even happier, because we became friends before I asked you to be my buddy."

I'd been to North Dakota a few times before, though, so I wasn't completely ignorant of what it was going to be like. Because of that, Mom and Dad let me go to some of the shops near the hotel we were staying, as long as I didn't go too far. We were right next to a lot of chainstores, including a giant American Apparel, which was where a lot of my clothes came from. I even had a little army coloured knapsack with a tonne of badges that came from there.

That's the thing – Della and I first went there and tried a few things on. But as we were picking out things, two girls around our age who had been looking at some of the accessories suddenly looked at us. Both of them seemed really shocked to see us, although I'd never seen them in my life before.

Then I sensed it.

The girls didn't look particularly weird or anything. They were both tall, but one looked tall and klutzy, while the other was tall and graceful. The latter was also African-American, complete with her long hair braided into cornrows.

But I knew that they weren't completely normal. I knew instantly that they were just like me. They were ghosts, too.

Della, who hadn't been watching, looked up a few seconds later at the girls, who were still staring at us. She suddenly froze.

"Do you know them?" I whispered to her. She didn't reply.

Then, the two girls actually approached us. "Can we talk?" the Anglo one said bluntly. "We're invisible to everyone else right now, so you two might want to be the same, so you don't look crazy."

We made ourselves invisible to the living, but then Della spoke pleadingly. "Can we please not go through this? I'm not going to do anything more. I don't want trouble."

"Like you didn't get me killed." the African-American girl sneered. She turned to me. "So, let's hear what happened. How many times did you almost die on camp? What did she do this time?"

I was starting to understand what these girls were saying. I hadn't met them, but I knew sort of who they were. I didn't remember their names, but they were former victims, potential buddies that Della had followed earlier.

"I chose to die." I said, although my voice trembled. I was a little more confident at talking to new people, but I was still a little shy with these two. "No one tried to kill me. I'm here because I want to be."

The Anglo girl raised her eyebrows and looked at Della. "Anyway, are you going to introduce us to your buddy?"

Della, still looking like she didn't want to be there, said "Oh, um, okay. This is Brooke, my best friend. Brooke, this is Sarah and Briana." She indicated each girl. Sarah was the Anglo one, and Briana was the African-American one.

I gave them a confused look. "You two don't have to stick together, though, do you?"

Briana managed a bitter smile. "I needed a buddy to leave Camp Cold Lake, true." she admitted. "Sarah was desperate to get out of there, but she couldn't leave without someone else. She wasn't really happy that it was me, but it would've been nuts to kill someone else. We sort of ended up being friends anyway." She threw a scornful glance in Della's direction. "I mean, I wanted to leave too, but I wasn't desperate enough to accept that crazy ghost as my buddy."

"She's my friend!" I protested, emboldened by her comment in defense of Della. "But by what I gathered, anyway, Briana, didn't you let Sarah die?"

Sarah spoke up. "Sort of." she admitted. "But I said I'd be Briana's buddy before that, so I decided she had a right. And at least she befriended me _before_ that. I know now that I wouldn't have had any friends at camp if it hadn't been for her."

"Well, Della befriended me long before asking me to be her buddy." I replied. "She knew I had trouble making friends, and so we decided to stick together. I didn't know she was a ghost until halfway through camp, but there was no reason not to stay friends with her."

Sarah stared at me, wide-eyed. "How did that take so long? I knew in a few minutes."

I narrowed my eyes at her implication that I was naíve not to notice, but Della answered for me. "You met me when you almost drowned. I thought you were a ghost, too. I didn't realize you were going to survive, otherwise I would have shown myself to you later on and pretended to be alive. Did you know about Briana straightaway?"

I'd known Sarah almost drowned as an attention stunt and that she'd only started talking about Della afterwards, but I hadn't known that was how they met.

"That's a good point." Briana admitted. "I was solid for most of camp. No one knew I had died, not even the counselors. I didn't want to come back to camp last summer, because being there all round was a nightmare."

"Your old bunkies missed you." I spoke up quietly. "I was roomed with two of them."

Briana gave a sigh. "It's better that I sort of faded out of the picture, now that I'm not there any more." was her reply. "I'm dead, remember? It's best that they just remember me as I was."

"I wish people could just forget me." Sarah sighed. She looked really depressed. "I was stuck drifting around the camp that whole summer. No one except Aaron seemed to even like me."

"Aaron?"

"My brother." Sarah clarified. "I would've probably tried to get to the nearest town through the forest sooner if he hadn't tried to stop me." She smiled bitterly. "I guess he prolonged my life."

Della fixed her eyes on the ground. Her expression was full of guilt, but she said nothing. It was up to me to answer the girls.

Finally, I smiled, trying to be friendly. "I guess you really want to hear the whole story." I said. "Why don't you come back to our hotel? We can talk more comfortably there."

Briana and Sarah exchanged glances. Then Briana spoke for both of them. "All right. We'll talk there. But I'm not leaving without a proper explanation."

 ** **I know a lot of people out there hate Sarah. I'm going to try not to bash her as we get deeper into this.****


	16. Chapter 16

****All right! Let's keep going. What happened once they went up to the hotel? Thanks for reviewing, Bloodylilcorpse and Lord Candycane.****

My parents saw me enter the hotel, but not the three other ghosts that followed.

"Don't bother leaving the door open." Briana told me on the way there. "We can go through walls, so we'll just wait in your bedroom."

I had to stay around, talking to Mom and Dad for a few minutes, so when I walked into my room, I was met with a pretty unpleasant scene.

Della was curled in on herself, looking as if she wished she'd just die all over again. Briana and Sarah were both standing up, and I could tell without them saying anything that they'd been laying onto her.

"Got nothing to say, huh?" Briana taunted. "You sure had a lot to say when you were following me around two summers ago."

"Yeah, that you weren't having us leave the camp alive." Sarah joined in. "What now? Come on, pull out one of your pathetic-lonely-little-girl lines, about how long you've waited for a buddy, how-"

"I'm sorry." Della mumbled as an interruption, but she didn't look up.

I didn't know what to say to defend her. But the other girls hadn't noticed me until now, so I made my presence known by going to sit down beside Della. She raised her head as soon as she sensed me, and managed a smile.

I finally looked up at the girls. "We said we'd talk." I said. "But if you're just going to use it as an excuse to give Della crap about what she did, you can go home."

There was a long pause. Then Briana took a few steps away. "Okay, okay. Talk. Whatever. Brooke, wasn't it? You tell us your story, then we decide what happens next."

I gave a nod, then looked at Sarah. Her eyes flickered between the three of us. Then she shrugged. "I'm still mad, but I'll listen for now."

There were twin beds in my room, so Della and I sat on one, Briana and Sarah on the other. We were all in invisible ghost form except for me, but I made my voice inaudible to living people so my parents didn't think I was talking to myself.

Then I told my story. I didn't edit it the way I'd done for my friends, because the girls already knew that I wouldn't have thought of dying at all if nothing had happened, and the fact that I chose to end my life still cast Della in a more positive light than they'd seen her in.

There were no interruptions until I got to the bit when I had heard from my bunkies that Della usually wanted to kill the girls she befriended.

"And you still wanted to be friends with her?" Briana said. Her eyes burned. "Were you crazy?"

"Um, I actually avoided her for a few days after that." I admitted.

Briana calmed down. "Okay, okay. Sorry. Go on."

It was only when I got to the part when I died that I got another interruption. This one was calmer, though. Briana spoke first. "That's the moment. The bite doesn't hurt that much, does it? But that moment when the venom gets to your heart and makes it stop – that's when you die. That shudder meant you were gone."

"I felt it too." Sarah said in almost a whisper. "The bite didn't feel real. That was the one thing that made me realize that my life was over."

Then I told the bit about my friends. Finally, it was over.

"So..." I said shyly. "What's your opinion?"

"I still think you're nuts." Sarah said instantly.

Briana nudged her. "She doesn't mean that." she said quickly. "She knows what it's like to find it hard to make friends."

Sarah nodded. "Yeah. But I would've rather been alive than had one friend."

I shrugged. "You knew Della was a ghost from the start. I didn't. We decided to stick together on the second day of camp. I didn't know for sure until after halfway." Then I was struck with a thought. "Briana, what happened to you? I heard a lot about Sarah, but not you."

The darker girl stared into her lap for a moment. Then she sighed. "Della, can't you tell the story? I've already told it to Sarah. I don't want to think about it again."

Della gave a nod. "There was a spare bunk in Briana's cabin that summer." she began. "So I acted a bit more like a true camper that year. I slept in the spare bunk, showed myself to the supervisor so I could swim and be someone's buddy, ate in the mess hall – and no one was any the wiser. Anyway, I knew I'd have to look for a buddy in my cabin, and I chose Briana because...well, I liked her best."

Briana cut in at that point. "Wait! That's why you chose me?"

Della actually managed a little giggle. "Well duh. Why would I want to hang out with a girl I didn't like?" She carried on with her story. "So I tried to befriend Briana, but she and Meg were already besties. I could've gone after her other bunkie, but I don't know...I just didn't. Briana didn't like me for some reason. Like, right from the start. Meg was fine with me, though. So when I first asked Briana to be my buddy, just for one day, she said no. By Visiting Day, she knew what I really was, but no one believed her. And then I started trying to scare her away from the lake."

"And on the last day of camp, I just decided I couldn't take it any more and tried to get through the forest." Briana finished. "And you know the rest."

"That's why I didn't show myself to anyone but Sarah the next year." Della took up the story again. "I was worried that might happen the same way. I didn't expect Briana to act like a camper for another summer. I mean, I knew she was around, but we never saw each other, really."

"I avoided you." Briana told her bluntly. "I knew you'd try to make friends with me if I didn't, and I didn't want to have to keep telling you to go away. And...well...by that point, I needed a buddy. I figured that Della's tactic was actually a good one."

Sarah looked thoughtful. "But...if you wanted a buddy, why didn't you try to lure Meg to the woods?"

Briana rolled her eyes. "Meg has a major future ahead of her. But my plan was never to lure anyone to the woods, anyway. I knew Della was going to try again. I figured I could rescue whoever she went for, and then-"

"They'd be your buddy." All three of us chorused.

Sarah smiled sadly. "I guess that's what happened. So...was it completely a coincidence that you and the other girls gave me a second chance?"

Briana shrugged. "Not exactly. It was my idea, and I sort of guessed something when I heard someone calling to you at the campfire to be her buddy – I didn't see Della there, but I figured it had to be her when I heard it, but you were the only other one who seemed to hear it. But I actually did think you deserved another chance – I mean, you'd suffered enough." She stopped, and then turned to me. "So, you want to hear our judgement?"

I nodded, not sure if I was making the right choice.

"Well, you made your choice." Sarah spoke up. "So as long as neither of us have to see you again, I'm going to let it go."

"I guess that's okay." Briana agreed. "I'd rather some retribution, but..." she sighed. "I'd rather leave than be bothered making another ghost pay for her actions. But..." she gave me a sideways glance. "Are you going back to Camp Cold Lake this summer?"

I shrugged. "Probably. I'm not tied to it any more, right?"

"I guess not." Briana said. "But you should probably both go or stay, just in case."

Della shrugged, too. "I guess I could go under a different name and pretend to be alive. It's been a while since I was a living camper. Most of the counsellors never knew me. Even Liz only started at the camp about five years ago, although the water safety rules were taken just as seriously." She smiled at me. "So, you, me, Camp Cold Lake this year?"

I grinned. "Definitely!"

Briana and Sarah exchanged looks. Then they shrugged, waved, and left.

 ** **I'm planning on ending this story pretty soon. Brooke is still coming to terms with her death. Going back to her deathplace might be just what she needs.****


	17. Chapter 17

****Summertime! Thanks for reviewing, Bloodylilcorpse, DannyPhantom619 and Nicky Haugh!****

Della and I did return to camp that summer, and we managed to even get in the same cabin. Because there were only four girls to a cabin, I couldn't request my old bunkies without leaving someone out, so we had two new girls in our cabin – Phoebe and Sienna. They both seemed nice, although Phoebe was quite shy and monosyballic (kind of like me) while Sienna was bouncy and a bit too loud. I knew I was going to get along with them.

Della went by a different name, since I'd mentioned her to my old bunkies and they might remember her. She called herself Isabella, so even when we were alone in the cabins, I reminded myself to call her Izzy.

As for my old bunkies, they all roomed together again, and although I had to explain why I didn't request them, they let it go and accepted Della into the fold after a few days, just as they had me.

Della and I kept to our old routine of watersports in the mornings and hanging out in the afternoons. I found out that a benefit of being a ghost was that I no longer got motion sickness from boats, so I canoe (I'm so sorry for that). Point is, I spent the whole time at camp really throwing myself into it, making the most of the six weeks.

I spent a couple of afternoons chilling, but nowhere near as many as I had the previous year. There was no point.

Della was happier than usual, too. It seemed like there was a weight off her, that she could make friends with anyone on camp without thinking about how she couldn't let one of them leave alive. It was as if she'd never been that semi-murderous ghost I'd met last year.

I really enjoyed camp. In fact, it was probably the most alive I'd felt all year. Everything was exactly the way it had been last yeah. Almost all the old counsellors were still there, and this year, a few of the old campers who'd been the oldest last year were back as CITs. It was as if during the winter, the whole camp had been suspended in time, just waiting for old and new campers alike to bring it to life during the summer.

I expressed this to Della one evening at the campfire, and she gave a sigh. "You know, Brooke, that's almost right. This camp was basically killed and resurrected every year. I mean, the only difference is that I've seen new counsellors and CITs, but there's always a mix of old and new campers. The place is dead during the winter." She shivered herself. "It used to make me feel like there were creatures lurking around, just waiting to attack me, when I was probably the scariest thing there." She managed a smile. "Last year must've been my lucky summer."

I smiled, too. "I'm just glad I didn't have to go through that. No wonder you were willing to kill for a buddy!"

Della didn't take offence. She knew what I meant. "Well, I'm just glad I don't have to do that all over again."

I smiled, but then I remembered something, and shivered. "But I have to pretend to die next summer. I'm still nervous about that, and worried that everyone else will get suspicious when I haven't changed at all."

"I doubt any teachers will recognize that you haven't changed." Della assured me. "And your parents see you so much that they won't be able to see any change. Tara and Ginny already know you're twelve forever, and if Emily hasn't noticed anything yet, she never will. And they're the ones that see you most."

"And Brandy." I reminded her. "She's still suspicious of you."

Della shrugged. "I know she's your friend and I tried to like her because of it, but I really don't know what you see in her. And besides, even though she doesn't like me, she isn't suspicious of _you._ Just don't talk to me as much when she's around and you should be okay."

But our fun at camp couldn't last. We were both very happy for the first four weeks, doing every water activity we could think of, and a few crafts on rainy days.

Then, one day when I decided to lounge around in my cabin, Sienna had decided to stay with me. Phoebe and Della had gone canoeing together.

Then Sienna brought it up. "You know, Brooke, I've been noticing something." she said in a voice that sounded sweet, but I could tell there was something...something weird behind it.

"Uh-huh?" I said carefully, looking at her warily.

"You see," Sienna said, still sweet, "I have insomnia. That's how I noticed. Sometimes when we're all in our bunks at night, I...well, I notice stuff. Like...did you know you go sort of...invisible when you sleep? Or transparent?"

I had to come up with an explanation, and fast. I tried to laugh. "Oh, that. You know how the dark plays tricks on eyes. It was probably an illusion, or a dream."

But Sienna wasn't having any. She dropped the sweet tone. "Please, Brooke! You're the worst liar I've ever met. At least your friend could tell me that with a smile. I almost thought she really was surprised when I asked."

Oh, great. Why did I have to be assigned to a cabin with a girl who didn't sleep much? I didn't have control over my invisibility/transparency/solidity when I slept. Well, I hadn't even known that.

Then I spoke. "So what? Why do you care what happens when I sleep?" I asked, trying to sound tough.

"I don't care." Sienna shrugged. "I just find it a little weird that you and Izzy both do it, and Phoebe doesn't. I fgured it had to do with the fact that you two already knew each other."

I paused, thinking. Then I said "Well, if you've asked Izzy and she didn't tell you, what makes you think I would?"

'Because I also told her that I think you're both undead." Sienna's answer was swift.

I froze. I couldn't answer that.

"I knew it!" Sienna said triumphantly. "I knew you two weren't really alive! So why are you even here? What do you want from us?"

I scowled at that. "I don't want anything." I said defiantly. "I came here for the same reasons you did. Same with Izzy. We both came to camp because we like it here. End of story."

And that really is how it ends. I decided that it was time to let go after that. Della agreed with me. We managed to stage my death properly, and after that, we just hung around together, doing whatever we wanted. Well, we left the camp after I staged my death (before camp was over...I couldn't stand sharing a cabin with Sienna and her accusing triumphant eyes any more), and then that was it for us.

Now there's a new goal in mind. Della told me that her secondary reason for wanting a buddy was to get to Heaven...the other side, as it was. But it should really have happened automatically when she got me, shouldn't it? We don't know how to move on from ghosts to spirits of the afterlife.

Why did I agree to die?

 ** **THE END****

 ** **A/N: I know, it's an abrupt ending. But I needed to finish this story and it was never really going to have a happy ending, not with Brooke dead.****

 ** **I hope you enjoyed it anyhow. I know that I really enjoyed exploring Della's personality in this story. Thanks for reading, everyone!****


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